2500 Degrees
by hope2x
Summary: Emma is an excited new firefighter ready for what should be a non stop exhilerating career. But the day she experiences her first real fire, her life changes forever. There's more to life than red trucks and parades and Emma will face that reality quickly. SWAN QUEEN.
1. Chapter 1

**BTW, I started this story a long time ago (as you can see by the dates ;) but I am just now re-editing through it to see if I can pick it up again and finish it. I make no promises, but I would genuinely love to finish this story, so I'm going to give it a try.**

 **(There is a glossary at the end of the chapter for any of the terms that may not be familiar)**

* * *

Twenty five _hundred_ degrees...Emma was wondering if she heard that right. It was hard to make out every word her instructor spoke inside the burning room, but she was pretty positive he just said that flashover temperatures could reach twenty five hundred degrees in their fully developed stage.

She knew _she_ was hot, that was for sure. She kept having to straighten out her legs and arms to relieve the burning in her knees and elbows. She didn't even want to think about the sheer amount of sweat that would be soaking her uniform when she finally got to take off her turnout gear.

For Emma though, it would always be worth it. This was one of her last trainings in the academy before it was time to test and graduate and start her career. She was already set to join the Boston Fire Department, just as soon as she completed school, and that day couldn't come fast enough.

She was ready to be a firefighter. She was ready to run into burning buildings and carry out little kids and resuscitate dogs and march in parades to the sounds of cheers and applause. She was ready for this and nothing would convince her otherwise. Not even her instructor who was adamant in his teachings to reiterate the same facts.

"This is a controlled environment, people. The real deal will not be like this. Flashover temperatures will fry through your coats and melt your face masks. If you see the fire licking across the ceiling like that, well...it's already too late."

Emma rolled her eyes but quickly moved to the front when "next!" was yelled and it was her turn to sit front and center and experience the conditions of the deadly force in action.

It was fascinating. Breathtaking, figuratively and literally. Flames shot over her head and she wasn't thinking about the level of heat. Heat that no matter how uncomfortable, was no match to how bad it would be in an uncontrolled environment. No, her discomfort was at the back of her mind, right there with her personal safety and any other normal, human reactions one should experience in life and death circumstances.

Emma's eyes shone bright like the flames surrounding her and nothing could have been more important to her in that moment. It was finally her time.

* * *

2500°

* * *

She tried to force a smile on her face as she helped Toby to his feet and led him to the stretcher waiting outside his room. He was a frequent flier that called at least once a week to say his chest was hurting again and this time, surely it must be something serious.

Unlike the boy who cried wolf, Toby got the full response as anyone who reports having "crushing" chest pain would get, each and every single time he called 911. Emma, along with every other firefighter and paramedic on scene, knew Toby learned the key phrasing to use to make it sound like he could really be having a heart attack. They also knew very well, it was all one giant, steaming pile of bull shit.

No matter, every time Toby called, they all showed up. First a fire engine, consisting of a crew of three, then the two man medic unit right behind, and they would all walk up the six flights of stairs every week. They'd then go through the motions of running a twelve lead that would show a perfectly normal sinus rhythm, starting an IV, giving him four baby aspirin and then 0.4 milligrams of Nitro that would all have no real beneficial effect for the pseudo chest pain. He always asked for the morphine next, but thankfully, they could generally use the excuse of a quick transport to warrant not giving it to him.

Today was like all the others. Emma tried not to focus on the ache in her back as she helped carry Toby down the first flight of steps in the stair chair they were forced to use, per their protocol. Yet again, unlike the boy who cried wolf, Toby got the full response. Because, as they were all reminded by their medical director, should Toby ever truly be having a heart attack and they make the man walk every step himself, they'd all be liable and their dream jobs stripped from them.

Six months into the job, this is not what Emma thought she'd be doing. She wanted to be wearing fire gloves, not latex and she wanted to be carrying a hose, not a two hundred pound, drug seeking, pathological liar who will make welfare pay for his trips to the ER before he cashes their next check for junk food and new video games.

Unfortunately, this had become Emma's reality. Her calls were about ninety percent medical, where all she did was help move and carry sick or fake sick people. She knew this job was down and dirty, but she thought she'd be covered in ash and soot, not vomit and feces. Then if that wasn't discouraging enough, the other ten percent of calls were all either general alarms that always turned out to be nothing, or even more frustrating, alarms that were called in as real fires and ended up being families who burnt a chicken on the stove and had everything taken care of by the time they arrived.

Those were the worst because every single time, Emma would throw on her gear in mere seconds before jumping in her seat and trying to control her breathing and heart rate as excitement of a structure fire nearly overwhelmed her. She'd think that this was it — this was finally the real deal and her time to shine and she'd be out of the truck with her tools in hand before the vehicle was even parked. But then of course, came the same frustrating conclusion that once again, there was nothing there and nothing to do.

By the time they finished up, it was late enough for bed and Emma was more than happy to move to her bunk. She still had seven hours left of her twenty four hour shift and after a day full of trainings for fires that weren't coming and less than serious medical calls, Emma was completely exhausted and happy to sleep through until the end.

So of course it was the moment she finally drifted off to sleep after the long day that the lights came on and the tones dropped.

* * *

"Disorienting" doesn't truly explain it. Probably because it just wasn't strong enough of a description.

Emma was trying to follow orders; she knew her role as the probie and it was to listen and do exactly as she was told. The problem is though, that you can only do what you're told if you can _hear_ what you're being told.

Breathing the air from her tank, Emma could hardly understand the man in front of her yelling for her to "pull the fucking line, already!" let alone understand anything coming from her radio. It was all a garbled mess and she silently prayed nothing critical would be said that she'd miss.

She grabbed the hose off the truck and tried to fan it out as best as she could outside the front door, per her training. But then she looked up at the building before her and knew there was no way of reaching the fire supposedly on the third story. She was just thinking that through when her coat was grabbed and her body forced around to face her officer, a man nearly seven feet tall, with his name badge reading, _Lieutenant Stevens,_ even higher than Emma's eye line.

Even through their masks and hidden by darkness, Emma could see the anger in his face.

"What the fuck are you doing?! It's a high rise and the fire's on the third floor! Grab the fucking pack and get to the stairwell!"

Emma could feel her heart pound and knew the heat in her cheeks wasn't from the flames. She was mortified to have already screwed up only moments into her first fire and between that and the anxiety from the real life and death situation before her, Emma felt lightheaded as she ran back to the truck.

She wanted to stop and collect herself, but she couldn't. This was it — this was everything she always wanted and it was time to prove herself. So Emma grabbed the high rise pack and managed to shoulder the weight before all out running into the building and straight to the stairwell.

She saw her lieutenant again before he followed behind her with an axe and halligan in hand. She didn't pause to check in — she had to prove herself. So instead, she ignored the strain in her legs as she ran up the three flights in all sixty pounds of gear with the hose over her shoulder and just gave it everything she had.

She stopped at the floor just below the fire and dropped her pack before immediately pulling it apart. She felt relief when her LT took the hose to lay it out as she hooked up to the standpipe and the line was set for water in seconds. Her officer went ahead and radioed their progress and the need for water and in only a few more seconds, the line was filled and they were ready to go.

"Okay, just ahead there, that's the address that wasn't cleared. We're starting there with a primary search for any victims and if we don't find anyone, we'll go from there, okay?"

"Okay!" Emma nodded and shifted to get the hose in a better grip. She looked ahead at the door Stevens pointed to and took in a deep breath.

She just saw the silver "108" addressed on the white door before the lieutenant slammed it open and Emma rushed into the flames.

* * *

 **Short chapter to get into the story. I want to know if this is an AU people want to read, so please review and let me know. Many things in regards to Emma's calls or the way she or other speak will come in part from my own experiences as a firefighter, such as the fire training in the beginning of this chapter. But this is obviously fiction overall. Thank you for reading.**

 **Glossary:**

 **Flashover = when all combustible material simultaneously ignites and fire spreads rapidly across an entire space. There are signs of impending flashover, such as when fire starts "licking" across the ceiling. The survival rate of those trapped inside when it occures is nearly zero.**

 **Turnout Gear = The protective clothing firefighters wear when dealing with life threatening emergencies, mainly fires. Consists of helmet, nomex (hood), face mask, coat, pants, boots and gloves.**

 **12 Lead = An EKG. By using a portable cardiac monitor, you can look at a patient's heart to determine if something abnormal is happening. Always used on chest pain patients to look for abnormalities.**

 **Probie = probationary firefighter or "rookie".**

 **Standpipe = In high rise buildings, there will be a pipe that goes all the way up the building inside so that firefighters just connect their hose to the connection at the base of the building and then reconnect a new hose to the floor they need (typically the floor below the active fire). This is so they don't have to pull a hose up several stories.**

 **"Pack" (high rise pack) = A specific set of hoses pre set up to be carried to ='and connected to, a standpipe.**

 **Halligan = a hand tool generally used in conjunction with an axe. The set together is commonly referred to as an "Irons Pack" and is generally always taken into any fire.**


	2. Chapter 2

It would seem stupid to say that it was hot, but frankly, that's the word. When you're sitting in sixty plus pounds of gear over your uniform inside what's basically an oven, it's freaking _hot_.

Emma could feel sweat pouring down her back as she crawled through the apartment, but that wasn't the most uncomfortable aspect. The worst was that she felt suffocated and claustrophobic. Her coat was clinging to her heated body and Emma had the overwhelming impulse to just get it off to be comfortable again. She knew that was suicidal and wasn't so stupid as to actually consider it, but the desire was there.

Dragging the hose with her was a strenuous task. She had trained to do this and never let herself slow down, but that didn't mean it wasn't exhausting. Stevens would pull with her when she turned corners inside the apartment, but then he'd let go to break into another door or check another spot and it left her moving the heavy line by herself.

She wouldn't let her exhaustion slow her though. She was bound and determined to show these men the kind of firefighter she was.

Being a female firefighter wasn't bad, but she heard things. She knew there were plenty of men who thought no woman would be strong or capable enough to work alongside them. Emma herself hadn't had a lot of issues yet — probably because she was new and they were still trying to figure her out. Some were overly respectful to the point that she worried others would resent her getting off too easy just because she was a woman. Then some just ignored her altogether. Generally the oldest men at the department just avoided her and would barely even respond if she spoke up to them first.

Regardless, Emma knew she needed to show them she deserved to be there. She wanted to make it so no one would ever say she didn't earn her spot — that she wasn't as committed and strong and brave as they were.

So Emma muscled the line onwards towards the glowing at the end of the hall. So far, they'd searched three different rooms and hadn't found anyone. They had no way of knowing if anyone was home, other than to look. This was the only apartment that wasn't accounted for and apparently not one of the other residents had any idea where the tenant might be tonight.

As thrilled as she had always been at the prospect of making the dramatic rescue and carrying a poor defenseless victim from a burning building, Emma now found herself praying no one was home. It might look cool to the public eye, but she couldn't even imagine trying to carry a human being out of the apartment and all the way down the three flights with her gear at this point. She honestly wasn't sure she could make it without collapsing.

She stopped when she got to another door, left part way open, and pushed it the rest of the way. She tried to scan through the darkness before clicking on her flashlight and glancing across the room.

Her eyes widened and she felt her stomach drop the second she saw the bassinette in the center. Her training seemed to be out the window as she dropped the hose without thought and stood straight up before running to the crib. She could have cried the second she saw it empty.

Just like before, she felt her coat grabbed as she was pulled down. She landed on her knees and looked to her lieutenant who was shaking his head.

"Stay down. You know this. Don't lose your head in here."

Emma nodded and chose not to pity herself for another small screw up. Instead, she crawled back towards the door and took the line into her hands once again.

Making her way down the hall, she could feel the level of heat increasing. Even through all her bunker gear, it was noticeable. She didn't let it deter her, though. That meant she was getting closer and that was a good thing.

Finally reaching the back of the apartment, Emma could see all intensely bright coloring of the flames in her peripheral vision before she even faced the deadly force. Once she did though, her eyes widened and she just stopped for the briefest moment to stare in awe.

The entire back wall was flaming from floor to ceiling. The flames extended across both adjoining walls and was moving through the floor as well. There was a desk to her left inside the room that had just caught as well and Emma knew she needed to move fast.

She saw a box of files sitting on the top, just about to be taken into the fire and without much thought, grabbed it and tossed it behind her before readjusting and pointing the nozzle towards the fire.

"Come on, kid, let's go!" Stevens screamed behind her and Emma grabbed the handle and jerked it back to open the line.

With the nozzle fully opened, the water rushed out and pushed Emma back. She felt hands at her back steady her as she tried to get the hose under control.

"Close it! Close it and widen the stream — then open it, _slowly_."

Emma was breathing hard and she could feel her heart pounding, but she followed the order and used her palm to hit the handle back down. She turned the end slightly, just enough to know the water stream would widen enough and then took one deep breath before cracking the line again.

This time, she calmed herself and pulled back slowly. Water started flowing and Emma made sure she still had control as she pulled more and more until the water reached the back wall easily.

The second she touched the fire, Emma smiled. She turned and water sprayed across the room and flames were killed instantly. Now _this_ was it. This was everything she had wanted and she was finally doing it. She nearly laughed as she whipped the line around again and continued extinguishing every sign of light in sight. This was the dream and she was finally living it.

* * *

This was less of a dream. Emma leaned over to chug the water bottle just handed to her and took the opportunity to lean on the truck for a minute and catch her breath.

She knew clean up was part of the job. It wasn't just fighting fire, unfortunately. In fact, that was the shortest part. After knocking the active fire down, they'd immediately gone to work checking the entire structure for any more hidden flames and then gone straight into clean up. She'd gotten a few minutes every so often to have a drink and catch her breath, but she knew one of the biggest rookie rules was that if someone else is working, you should be too. So Emma didn't rest if everyone wasn't resting and after nearly four hours of salvage and overhaul, she just wanted to lay down right there and then.

She was getting up to go back inside when a disruption caught her attention. She looked over to where most of the residents were gathered, watching the efforts to save their homes, when she noticed the cops trying to calm someone.

It was a curious sight because no one had been too panicked since the fire had been extinguished. Most of the apartments were actually fine. Only two were affected and only one actually destroyed. But that's when it occurred to Emma that she never noticed whether the homeowner of the actual fire had showed up on scene yet. She'd been otherwise occupied for awhile.

Now though, Emma was paying attention and she watched as a woman actually put her hands on the officer trying to keep people at bay and _pushed_ him. Emma was shocked, to say the least, and even more so when the officer just... _moved_ out of her way. It was very unlike the more gruff and active police officers she'd noticed since working there.

She squinted as sweat spilled down her eyelids and rubbed at them without thought, instantly regretting the decision when she felt the burn from the dirt and perspiration mixture. She tilted her head back and poured the rest of her water bottle over her eyes and face, nearly sighing in relief at the cool feeling over her heated skin.

"Excuse me?"

Emma tilted her head back down at the sound of an approaching voice. She shook her head slightly and used her sleeve to wipe the moisture away so she could see the new comer.

"I said, _excuse me_."

The voice was far more curt this time and Emma narrowed her eyes just the slightest as she took in the woman before her. She lost her voice for a second as she took in the angry, yet equally worried look on her face. She tried to speak, but paused again, when the other woman stepped closer into the beam from one of their truck lights and Emma caught her figure in it's entirety.

It was pretty much exactly like those school girl crushes you had growing up. When just the sight of them makes the butterflies go wild and your hands suddenly feel wet to the touch for no apparent reason, whatsoever. When you'd forget how to speak without your voice wavering, if you could even speak at all and you'd have this nearly uncontrollable urge to giggle.

That's what the sight of this complete stranger was doing to Emma now and the new firefighter wondered how running into a burning building had less of an effect on her.

Before she could even try to speak again, the woman shook her head in frustration and beat her to it.

"Can you at least point me in the direction of someone capable of speech?" The woman snapped and Emma frowned instantly. Again though, before she could say a word, someone beat her to it.

"Hey! What's the problem here?" Stevens walked up behind Emma and moved to her side to face the irate woman.

"I am just trying to find out what happened here, but apparently your firefighter can't handle the task." She ran her fingers through the brunette hair that fell just an inch or so from slender shoulders and anyone could tell it was a sign of the anxiety and worry she was trying to conceal now.

"Well excuse me, ma'am, but _this_ firefighter is the one that put the fire out. This firefighter is the one that put _your_ fire out. The one that risked her life, crawling through your entire apartment searching for _you_ , before trying to salvage every bit of your place that was possible."

Stevens seemed to know when to stop, because the brunette had gotten completely quiet. She still looked a little angry and worried, but Emma realized that she looked just slightly ashamed as well.

The look passed quickly and there was a facade of nonchalance that immediately took it's place, but Emma still knew what she saw.

"Sorry." The woman's tone was still short, but less aggressive now. "Can someone please tell me what happened?"

"Well Ma'am, you can go talk to the investigator. He's here now. Or I can take you to our captain if you'd like. All I can tell you is that a fire originated in your back room. That whole area is pretty destroyed, along with a section of the apartment next door to you. There's smoke damage through the halls and in a few other rooms as well. Frankly, with the intensity of the fire in there, it's a miracle it didn't spread much farther and take out more of the building."

"The back room— the back room, as in my office? My office is completely destroyed?!" The woman's energy was back in full force, but now it was just panic.

Emma stepped back slightly, at a loss for words on the right thing to say. She'd done her job and _well_ , it seemed. Despite the few minor screw ups, Stevens had pulled her aside after and said every probie makes mistakes at their first calls. Even seasoned vets still misstep from time to time. Then he told her that the most important thing, was that she didn't let it stop her. That she shook it off and pushed through and did her job.

She'd been more than a little surprised and happy to hear that and get a genuine "good work" from her officer. Then again, when one of the other firefighters, August, had pat her on the back when they joined to begin overhaul and told her he was impressed how well she handled her first fire. Every one of the men she'd interacted with since had been kind and spoke to her like any one of the other guys there.

Looking at this woman now, Emma wasn't sure what to say. She did the best she could. She saved what she could when she had the chance.

Emma was just remembering what she'd managed to salvage, when Stevens spoke up again.

"Yes, I'm so sorry for the loss. Can I ask what your name is, Ma'am?"

"Regina. Regina Mills." It came out almost whisper like as she waited to hear what happened.

"Regina, my name is Josh. Josh Stevens. I'm the lieutenant on this truck." He indicated the vehicle behind them, that was front and center before the apartment. "Now we do put a lot of care into saving people's property to the best of our ability given the circumstances. I know Emma saved a box before the fire could get it and we've been bringing out whatever else seemed intact."

"A box?" She perked up then and Emma decided not to even try speaking at this point, and instead, went to where they were moving everything and grabbed the files.

The second the brunette saw what was in her arms, the look of sheer relief was more startling than any of her outbursts. Emma looked to see Stevens responding to their captain calling him over and nearly flinched when Regina suddenly lurched forward to reach the box and rifle through the papers inside. Then all negativity from the way the other woman had acted dissipated instantly, the second a brilliant and beautiful smile stretched across her face.

Emma wasn't conscious of the smile on her own face as she watched Regina. She was completely mesmerized. The woman suddenly looked so much younger now. Emma guessed she was only a few years older than herself, but the angry lines that had scored her face, made her look beyond her time. Now though, she looked almost like the schoolgirl Emma felt like and it had the rookie completely captivated.

"Thank you."

The words were genuine and Emma couldn't help but fall in love with the tone of her voice. The rougher, angrier sound had certainly had an effect as well, but this was on another level. Emma was all out grinning then, though luckily, the heat and darkness could both help to disguise the blush on her cheeks.

"You're welcome." She finally spoke and brown eyes met hers, but when Regina didn't say anything, Emma felt the need to continue. "What was in there?"

She probably shouldn't ask, but she didn't want the conversation to end. She started to regret it when the older woman cleared her throat and looked away. Relief came quickly though, when she responded.

"They're adoption papers, for my son — well, my soon-to-be son. It's been a long road and it would have been very difficult if everything had been destroyed. I can replace everything else." Again, she spoke genuinely and again, Emma found herself captivated.

"Well I'm glad I could help." She was worried her voice shook, but there was no reaction from Regina, so Emma mentally congratulated the victory. "If there's anything else I can do..." Emma started hopefully.

"No, no this is all. Thank you, again." Regina barely looked at her then. Emma frowned just slightly at the sudden shift, and stepped forward.

"You know, there's programs and stuff — like Red Cross kinda people or something — that can help with a place to stay."

"I'll be fine, Miss..." Regina looked around for some kind of name tag, but Emma was only in her t-shirt and bunker pants, so the blonde pointed helpfully towards her coat, hanging over an open door with her name etched into the tail. "Swan..."

Despite her frustrations at being cut off and getting attitude again from the other woman, Emma couldn't help but love hearing her name from Regina's lips.

"...As I said, everything else can be replaced and I can take care of myself. Now if you please, I should probably speak with your superiors." Regina started to walk before looking over her shoulder to Emma again. "Do me a favor, dear, and take those other boxes to my car. Thank you." She smiled again, but it was different then and Emma didn't know if she liked it.

It wasn't like Emma hadn't gotten the brush off before, but she felt so completely dismissed by this woman and it was kind of insulting. Her ego wasn't that bad. She'd always been in really good shape growing up and with perfectly natural blonde hair and sculpted abs, Emma had a healthy appreciation for her own body. But she'd also grown up a poor, unloved, foster kid, and that leveled her out enough to keep her head an appropriate size.

But now, Regina had been kind and appreciative before suddenly giving her the cold shoulder and blowing her off and Emma was more than confused.

She watched Regina go and sighed. She didn't want to, but she felt she had to help with the other things they'd grabbed from the apartment. She was supposed to always give the public what they wanted when she could and she wasn't sure if she could justify not helping Regina because her smile wasn't as friendly now.

Yeah, that wouldn't go over well with her "superiors" as Regina said.

So Emma begrudgingly grabbed a box that they'd stored whatever random things that looked valuable into, and walked in the direction Regina had come from. It was about halfway towards the parking lot, that Emma realized she didn't actually know what car was Regina's. She looked around the packed lot and rolled her eyes before an older gentleman standing nearby smiled at her.

"Over there, young lady." He was still smiling when Emma looked over, questioningly. "Ms. Mills?"

Emma nodded and smiled back. He just winked and Emma moved towards the Mercedes.

She shifted the box onto her hip before reaching for the trunk, but lost her grip quickly. She swore under her breath as the box started to fall. She managed to get it in time, but the jewelry box they added on top, tipped over the edge and hit the ground with a crack.

More swearing was followed by frantic grabbing as Emma tried to get everything back together. She scooped up a handfuls of necklaces and earrings and placed them back inside. She hoped the other woman wouldn't freak when she saw the broken box. She did say everything was replaceable.

She checked to make sure she had everything, and saw one last piece next to the back tire. Picking it up, she sighed again. It was just as well — she knew she didn't have a shot with the woman anyway — not with the sudden mood change the second they were getting comfortable. The lady had issues and an attitude and maybe this was for the best.

So Emma put the wedding band back inside the jewelry box and loaded everything into the woman's car. She got back to work and back to the things that were truly important to her.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please do me a favor and take a minute to leave a review. It really helps and it's greatly appreciated ;)**

 **Overhaul = The systematic search for hidden fires or for fire extension. You basically tear into ceilings and walls to find and extinguish any remaining fire. It's incredibly exhausting work because as fun as it sounds, having to use your strength to break apart dry wall and any other construction material for any extended period of time while still in gear and typically with a tank as well, will exhaust your whole body, fast. The length of time it takes will depend on the size and location of the original fire but it can be minutes to many hours.**

 **Salvage = Basically to protect and/or save any remaining material or items inside the structure. In most house fires, you try to carry things out that are valuable. Safes, pictures, any items you think would be of value to the residents. In fires where there is copious amounts of water inside, it can mean using tarps in different ways to either cover whats left to protect from sprinklers that may still be active, or re route water. You can literally use tarps to make slides (water chutes) and little pools (water catchalls) to gather water and limit damage as much as possible.**


	3. Chapter 3

Emma slammed her mug down on the bar with a proud smile. She heard cheers around her and brightened even more.

Three months after her first fire, Emma was really starting to feel like a part of the family. Things changed slowly, but over the course of her time there, she could tell they were starting to accept her. Especially after a shift last month when she'd saved one of their own.

August Booth, a five year vet, had been moved to her truck that day to ride as a forth until he could take over as engineer for their retiring driver. But then only a few minutes into shift, before anyone could properly get acquainted, they'd been dispatched to a car accident just outside a tunnel on Storrow Drive.

As usual, they parked to block traffic and keep the accident victims, police, and medics safe. Drivers in Boston was vicious at best — they were known as "Massholes" for a reason after all. So with that danger to consider, Emma's unit was placed diagonally to block them from any swerving cars.

August didn't know the layout of their truck since they hadn't had time to go over it before hand, so he had to walk around a few times to find the brushes to clear the glass and debri from the road. It was when he circled back behind the truck, that a high speeding car came out of the tunnel in a rare break in traffic too fast to swerve away when they saw him.

Emma had been coming to help him and just at the right moment it would seem, because she was walking around the truck herself when she saw what was about to happen. Luckily, she didn't stop to think or evaluate all options. She just reacted and grabbed August's coat and jerked as hard and fast as she could.

The next day was the first time she got invited out for drinks with the crew and the day Emma truly started to feel like she belonged.

Now, Emma laughed and elbowed Jefferson, one of the guys from the ladder truck, after finishing her drink first. The other men let their opinions on his performance be known, but it was all in good fun. Things could get really intense at work, but when they went out to have fun, all stress got released and no one took much of anything seriously.

"Next round's on Jefferson!" Stevens came up next to them and cheers were heard again.

That was one particular relationship Emma was really starting to appreciate. She'd been growing closer to August, as he wasn't much older than her and they seemed to have more in common, but her relationship with her lieutenant had strengthened significantly in the last few months.

He'd become her mentor and someone she felt she could comfortably speak to. She'd been so intimidated when she started, but now she found herself able to make jokes and be lighthearted while they worked together. Stevens was far friendlier since he'd seen how Emma could handle herself — not just at their fire, but in general.

Recently, he'd told her that she was one of the most impressive candidates they'd had in a long time. Not just because of any one thing, but the combination of her dedication, enthusiasm and overall skill. She had the right attitude and the ability to match. It was rare they had someone both willing and able to do the job so quickly and Emma really prided herself on that.

"That otta shut him up for a minute or two." Stevens remarked as he took the seat next to Emma. "Damn truckie thinks he's unstoppable. Now he's been beat by a girl." He winked and laughed when Emma elbowed him in the arm.

"Yeah maybe you should go against him to make it an even competition."

That comeback kept Stevens silent for a few seconds until he nodded.

"Okay that was fair."

The two clinked glasses and downed their Sam Adams laggers.

"So how was your date with Belle the other night?" Emma saw a shake of his head before hearing his frustrated answer.

"I don't think that's gonna happen."

"What? Why?" Emma frowned.

Belle had practically fallen into Josh's arms last week when he'd come out of the library carrying all the books he'd saved from the back room after the basement fire managed to take over a small section of the building. Josh had a thing for accents and the brave fire lieutenant had gotten almost shy when the petite woman started fawning over him.

She asked if she could take him out for dinner to thank him and Stevens was more than happy to take her up on the offer. They'd been a cute combination so Emma was surprised to hear the date didn't end well.

"I think she only asked to make that other guy jealous. I guess they're off and on."

"Wait…" Emma squinted. "That old guy with the cane? They're together?" Emma saw Stevens shake his head again.

"I can't explain it. But ya gotta love the irony — I thought _I_ was too old for her." He laughed and signaled for another round. "So what about you?"

"What _about_ me?" Emma paused and regarded her officer.

"Nothing, we just wonder why they're aren't any boyfriends showing up at the firehouse with cupcakes."

Emma laughed and shook her head.

"Well don't hold your breath."

"Hey, they don't have to bring cupcakes, but _something_. I mean come on, you're the only one without any random visitors." He grinned. "But in all seriousness, you shouldn't be afraid to have people stop by. You don't have to hide any boyfriends."

"Well I'm not hiding any _boy_ friends." She emphasized. Stevens narrowed his eyes in a brief moment of confusion before they widened in understanding.

"Oh...well I mean damn Swan, you better not be hiding any girlfriends. Especially any of them that would bring baked goods to the station."

"You guys are all spoiled brats, I swear." Emma laughed, but she was smiling genuinely. It was good to get that out and open and to have her boss be immediately understanding, was a relief. It wasn't always so easy. "Anyway, there's no one to hide regardless."

"Ah, give it some time. Women love firefighters."

* * *

Emma sighed as she took her gloves off and headed back towards her truck. She was tired and glad to be finishing up now.

She'd spent the better part of an hour cleaning up after the small shed fire and was ready to head back to the station for dinner. She turned and took one look back towards the homeowner hugging her husband who'd just arrived, before turning back and stepping towards her lieutenant.

"See?"

"Damn, that sucks." He remarked. "I read that one wrong."

"It's normal." Emma shrugged "Woman are like that — affectionate and touchy — but it doesn't mean the same thing. She was just happy we got the fire out."

It had been a number of hit and misses over the last few weeks. Josh had taken it upon himself to not only be a mentor at work, but a sort of wingman for Emma as well. Especially after Emma had scored him the number of the bartender last month and the resulting date that turned into an actual relationship for him.

Since then, Josh would mention if he saw someone checking out Emma, or encourage her if she herself seemed interested in another. Today, Emma definitely had seemed interested in this woman and the redhead had touched and hugged Emma more times than generally appropriate for handling the small fire. But of course when Emma finally got the guts to say something, the woman's husband showed up and all the affection went straight to him.

"Sorry Swan." He bumped her before his attention was pulled away.

"Lieutenant Stevens."

Josh turned to the direction his name was called and immediately straightened slightly.

"Good evening, Chief." He nodded respectfully.

"Good evening Josh, Emma." The chief smiled to her as well and the young firefighter gave a polite 'hello sir', but otherwise stayed quiet. "I'd like to introduce you both to your newest recruit. This is Robin Locksley." He indicated the man to his side. "Robin, this is Lieutenant Josh Stevens and Firefighter Emma Swan. You'll be starting with them next shift."

"Nice to meet you both." The newcomer expended a hand to each of them and though Emma was a little confused, she shook his hand and stayed quiet.

"Well we're heading out now, but good work you two."The chief gave an approving nod before he took their new candidate and stepped away. Still confused, Emma turned to her officer.

"We're running with four now?"

"Uh no. No, he'll be driving now, actually."

"August is getting bumped? He didn't say anything." Still not understanding, Emma looked over to see August shaking hands with Robin, surprised to see the genuinely kind expression towards his replacement.

"Promoted actually." Stevens answered and continued when Emma turned towards him. "We haven't said much about it, but the promotions have come in and August was promoted to Lieutenant of Engine 25."

Emma shook her head.

"August...is going to be my lieutenant?" She squinted, trying to understand how someone so young was about to be in charge. But then nepotism can get you far in life.

"Yes…"

"And you?"

"Well, it appears I'm getting a white shirt." He laughed. "I'll be Captain for our unit day as soon as Marco retires next month. It'll give Locksley time to learn the truck and August time to adjust to being an officer."

"I don't understand, why haven't I heard about any of this?" Emma turned towards Josh as he leaned against the side of the truck.

"Well I'm sure you've heard that Leroy has been gunning for a promotion for years now," Emma nodded, "but he's got a terrible attitude and the administration just won't go for it. They want August because he's young and follows the rules. Plus I know his father is loved by all of them. But they just want to keep things quiet so there's no drama from old "Grumpy"."

"But you could have told me." Emma felt a little hurt that they weren't close enough for her mentor or her friend to mention their promotions.

"I'm sorry, Emma. August was worried you'd feel awkward and I just didn't want to throw you off. You've done so well here. I know you'll adapt fine to everything."

If there was one thing Emma was used to, it was adapting to changing circumstances. She'd never had a home for more than a year or two. Never a relationship for more than a month or so. So why would her job be any different?

Emma signed and turned back to the truck. She supposed she was lucky that she had such good relationships with her bosses. Plus, if they ever pull anything on her, she'll happily bring up the moment she saved Lieutenant Booth from being roadkill and got Captain Stevens his dream girl.

They're could certainly be worse situations.

* * *

 **So this was short because it's a transition chapter. I have plans going forward, but I needed to get things lined up. Also, I'm sorry for no Regina this time, but she'll be back for everything else going forward. Thank you for your patience with this. I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review. It's greatly appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Four years later….**_

Emma wouldn't exactly leap to saying that this was her favorite part of the job. Public relations in any form didn't exactly pump her blood like responding to a high rise building fire or a head-on collision with multiple trapped patients. But then she supposed it was better than carrying Miss Eugenie down from her fourth floor walk up because her arthritis was acting up for the third time this week.

She didn't necessarily dislike kids, but doing these daycare and preschool and elementary school visits for firefighter education was tiring to say the least. She never understood why they couldn't just ask a damn question. She would say specifically, "does anyone have any questions they'd like to ask about firefighters?" and there'd always be nothing but "um, um, um, um, um's…" followed by some random statement about somebody in someone's family knowing something about firefighting with no actual question ever being asked. She grew up being forced to act beyond her years and so she had very little patience for the immaturity of children. It also got to her because she knew Booth did this just for his own joy.

Once, a little over a year before, she'd left him to deal with an elderly gentleman with dementia who'd called 911 in hysterics, insisting that his testicles were gone and he needed someone to find them. When they'd arrived on scene to find him stark naked, Emma pointed out of would be more appropriate for her to stay out of it and with Robin needing to stay by the truck, August had been forced to help the eighty-eight year old man "locate" his genitalia alone until EMS arrived.

Lieutenant Booth knew how Emma felt about the PR assignments with the kids and had left it for her ever since.

Walking inside, Emma set up all of her gear at the front of the classroom. She put everything out as she always did, one piece at a time, so all could be displayed separately. As much as she didn't love this particular job, she understood the value of it. Showing kids every single item one at a time as she dressed, let them see what exactly a firefighter was. The hope was that if they'd ever be trapped in a fire, they wouldn't be scared of the big, loud monsters in all their gear. They'd remember they were just people coming to help them.

"Hey Emma, it's good to see you again."

Emma turned and smiled at the brunette walking in, recognizing the woman who ran the daycare.

"Hey Miss Blanchard, how are you?"

"I'm great, but please, call me Mary Margaret." She insisted.

"Right, I'm sorry. How's it going?"

"Really well. The students are really excited to see the truck today. They've been talking about it all week."

"Good." Emma responded politely, still less than enthusiastic about the situation.

"Sorry for making you all come so early, but one of our students has to leave early today and I just wanted to make sure he didn't miss out."

"It's no problem." Emma really didn't mind. She'd rather get it out of the way before lunch.

"Good, well Ashley is about to bring them in and we can get started."

When Mary Margaret left, Emma went back to make sure everything was set. She only had to wait a minute before she heard a group of chanting four year olds in the hallway and tried not to feel annoyed already.

"Everyone take your seats on the mats please!" Mary Margaret lead the young children in and helped them settle on the floor in front of her.

Ashley, one of the other teachers, walked in with a child on her hip and smiled politely at Emma who raised an eyebrow at the young woman when she saw the new and large baby bump that hadn't been there her last visit.

"I guess congratulations are in order?"

"Yeah, well, I guess it's catching around here." Ashley joked and Emma shook her head.

"Better not be." She laughed but quieted down as Mary Margaret tried to quiet the children in front of her. She smiled at Ashley and the small, very quiet boy in her arms, before moving towards the front of the class again.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Emma Swan. Say hello to her."

Most of the kids said hi enthusiastically, with a few exceptions. The child Ashley carried actually laid his head down on her shoulder and put a thumb in his mouth. Emma noted his excitement matched her own. She couldn't blame him.

"Emma is a real life firefighter! And she's hear to talk to you for a few minutes and then you get to see all the cool firefighter tools and the truck!"

Most of the kids seemed pretty pumped to hear that, and were smiling in their excitement as Emma cleared her throat.

"Hey guys. So I just want to talk for a moment, and then I'm going to show you what I brought for this morning."

Emma was getting better at talking to the younger kids, but it was always difficult to go back and forth. Sometimes they had middle schoolers who could hold decent conversations, but then the next she was sitting next to a toddler, trying to figure out what to even say. These kids were three to five though, so they could understand somewhat, as long as she didn't over explain or ramble.

She started off for a moment, going over the basics. Asking if they knew what fire was and what to do if there was ever one near them. Then she moved on to that happens if fire ever got on them and Emma got to drop to the floor to demonstrate the famous "Stop, Drop and Roll" mantra. It was important information, she reminded herself as she physically rolled her body in front of the children.

"Okay, so now I'm going to show you the clothes we wear." She waved her hand over everything in front of her.

"All of that?!" A small girl gasped and Emma nodded.

"Brittany, let's raise our hands if we want to ask questions, remember?" Ashley kindly chastised, still holding the small boy in her arms as she sat on the floor.

"So, the first thing I do to put all this on, is grab this hood here." She lifted the white hood from on top of her boots and put it over her head, pulling it down around her neck. "This will keep my neck and face safe from the fire.

"The next thing I'm going to do, is step into my boots here."

Emma kicked off her shoes lightly before stepping into her leather boots.

"Why are your pants down like that?" Brittany spoke up again as the little girl saw Emma's bunker pants around the ankles of her boots.

"That's so I can pull them up really fast. Remember, I have to be able to get dressed really quickly so I can get to the fire as fast as possible. Watch."

Emma put her other foot in her boot before lifting her pants immediately after, all the way until her suspenders were over her shoulders and then she latched her pants quickly.

"See?" She asked and almost laughed when some of the children collectively hummed in awe.

She smiled at them and continued, demonstrating how she put her coat on and clipped all the latches to secure it to her body.

"Okay, so now I have to put this pack on." She started and lifted the tank up. "This right here, is a tank of air. It helps me breathe while i'm inside burning buildings." She put it on and secured the straps before starting again.

"Now, I'm going to turn it on, okay? When I do, it's going to make a loud noise, but that just means that it's working. It's a good thing, alright?"

Emma learned the hard way, that she needed to warn them of this. She had dealt with one too many screaming children from the loud ringing that sounded when the SCBA was turned on and did not want to deal with it again. But hearing it was necessary so that the kids wouldn't be scared in the future.

Emma made sure they all heard her, before she turned the handle on the tank and the brief, but blaring alarm sounded. Several children yelled dramatically for a second in their surprise, but thankfully, no one started crying this time. Looking around, she was even happy to note the less than social child in Ashley's lap was actually watching now.

"You guys are doing really well." She praised. "Okay, so the next thing I need to do, is put my mask on. When I do, it's going to be harder to understand me and I'm going to look weird, but it's still me. I just have to wear this to stay safe."

Emma then placed her mask over her face. She was slow in her movements so they could all see that it was still her. She placed the straps from her mask behind her head and tightened them all so it stayed in place when she moved her hands away.

"Can you hear me?" She asked slowly and enunciated carefully. Most of the kids giggled as they said yes back. She looked around and made eye contact with as many as possible and even managed to catch the shy boy's line of sight as well, pleased at how interested he was now.

"Good. Okay now I'm going to pull my hood up so it can protect my face. Then I put my big helmet on to protect my head.

Emma demonstrated her words and secured her helmet. She then explained wearing gloves for her hands and showed them that as well.

"Okay, so the last thing I have to do, is connect this tube to my mask." She held it up. "This brings the air from my tank so I can breath. It's going to make it even harder to understand my words, but it's helping me stay safe and that's a good thing."

Emma clicked the regulator onto her mask and sucked in a deep breath. Everyone stared in awe as her breaths were heard loudly across the room.

"Alright class, isn't that amazing?" Mary Margaret encouraged and got a collective "yeeeeeeaaahhhhh" from the group. "Would anyone like to give her a high five?"

They always did this, so they kids would be encouraged to come towards the firefighters So they could physically touch them and be close enough to know there was nothing to be scared of. It always worked too, at least with most of them, and that was the main goal of her visit.

Like all the other times, most of the students wanted to give Emma high fives and touch at various parts of her gear. So Emma knelt down to her knees, putting herself at eye level and crawled around the room.

She made it through most of them, backing off if someone seemed nervous and waiting for them to come to her. She kept going until she got towards Ashley and the curious boy in her arms.

"Hi." She said kindly, though it still came louder than normal through her mask and tank.

"He doesn't really interact." Ashley started. "So he won't…"

Ashley stopped mid sentence when the child in her arms shifted forward. She looked more than curious herself then, but allowed the boy to do as he pleased when he stood up between her and Emma.

Emma stayed still. She let him just stare at her for a full minute before getting even closer. He lifted a small hand very slowly and with just one tiny finger, he poked her mask, right by her left cheek.

Emma smiled. She carefully lifted her gloved hand and showed it to him. It was another few seconds before he responded, but instead of slapping it with a high five, he just pressed it against hers.

Emma lost focus of anyone else then. She was so intrigued by this kid and seeing him come out of his shell had her fascinated. She didn't notice that the other adults in the room were as interested as she was.

She didn't move when the boy stepped even closer, right up to her, and continued to hold still when he placed both of his hands against her mask now and awarded her with an actual smile.

Emma always thought she wasn't quite so fond of children, but in this moment, she felt an unfamiliar kind of affection for this particular child.

"Henry?"

The moment was lost when a voice cut through the silence and the child turned instantly. Emma looked over just before he ran towards the newcomer and straight into her arms.

Emma stood up slowly and unhooked her regulator. She let it fall and distractedly removed her helmet as well.

"I'm sorry for the interruption. That's his mother, Regina."

Emma turned towards Mary Margaret.

"But I have to say, that was amazing, Emma. He has never showed interest towards anything we do here. He doesn't say much, he won't play, I have never seen…."

The teacher's voice rambled on for a moment, but Emma wasn't really listening. She was looking towards the doorway and watching the woman holding the curious boy in her arms. It took her a second to place her, but that was literally all it took.

Recognition came and Emma continued to stare at the mother as she removed her mask. She was just taking her hood off as well when Henry pointed back at her and his mom followed the direction straight to her.

Emma knew the other woman was doing exactly what he had just done. Trying to place the familiar person in very different circumstances. She also saw the exact moment of recognition she'd experienced when Regina's eyes widened ever so slightly.

At Henry's insistence, Regina carried him back towards the firefighter. He was smiling still, and Emma could see Regina was too curious about her son's behavior not to act.

"Um, hey…" Emma started and Regina looked her up and down.

"Hello." The brunette mother responded politely.

"So I'm not imagining things right — we've met before?"

"Yes, I believe we have. It may have been harder for me to place you, but the...attire helped jog my memory."

She spoke with a kindness Emma didn't exactly remember. She did remember the woman being momentarily grateful when she'd presented her belongings, but the feeling had passed quickly when she disregarded and dismissed the probie. Thinking back though, she suddenly remembered why Regina had been sweet for that small moment.

The adoption papers.

She instantly looked back to Henry and couldn't help a small smile. Regina seemed to understand the look and couldn't help but giving it back.

"It's good to see you again." Emma continued. Regina looked exactly as she remembered and just like the first time, she felt those childish butterflies making a mess out of her stomach. But she felt more mature now and at least like she could hold a conversation.

Regina opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted before she could even start.

"Momma?!"

Henry's voice startled them both and Emma was momentarily disappointed she didn't get to hear Regina say it was good to see her as well. But then she realized that was childish and focused back on Henry.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

Instead of answering verbally, Henry just pointed outside the classroom where the fire truck stood.

"You want to go see the truck?" She asked and got an excited nod in return. "Well...we're going to miss your appointment…"

Henry's face instantly saddened and Emma watched as Regina's mind changed just as quickly.

"I suppose we can reschedule."

Emma was trying to refocus and lead the children outside, but she was more than a little distracted. Luckily, once they made it to her unit, Mary Margaret introduced them to the lieutenant and August took over the demonstration of the unit.

Regina carried Henry around as August explained the various features of the truck and Emma held back to watch. It was so interesting because this Regina just seemed so different. She'd made quite an impression three years ago. It had been Emma's very first structure fire and that's something every firefighter remembers, but then the woman herself had affected Emma. Not just her looks and the attraction Emma had felt, but the way she'd spoken to her. The kindness and genuine sincerity, followed by the dismissive cold shoulder had sat with Emma for a while.

Now though, she was seeing Regina as a caring mother and even though they'd only had a moment together, Emma was already captivated once more. So captivated, she almost didn't notice when Henry looked over his mother's shoulder at her and waved for her to join them.

Regina felt the motion and looked to see what her son was doing. Turning back, she watched Emma approach them and politely nodded in greeting.

"Do you like the truck?" Emma asked, not sure what else to say. Henry nodded enthusiastically and Emma couldn't help note the interested look on Regina's face as her son reacted.

"I want to go inside." He wiggled in Regina's arms.

"Sweetheart, I don't think-"

"That's fine." Emma cut her off. She nodded towards the group as August led them to the opposite side. "My lieutenant is going to let them walk through anyway, but Henry can sit in my seat for a minute if he'd like?"

"That would be nice. Thank you, Miss Swan."

Emma felt those damn butterflies again as the woman remembered her name, but then she mentally slapped herself when she realized it was written on her shirt…

Regardless, it was still nice hearing it and Emma smiled as she opened the back door for Henry to see.

"This is where I sit." She pointed to the backwards seat. "Do you want to climb in?"

"Oh I don't think he'll want to—"

Henry's wiggling interrupted her and Emma saw the surprise again as Regina let him down and the boy instantly started climbing into the truck.

"I'm guessing he's never seen a fire truck up close before." Emma stated, gaining Regina's attention.

"No he hasn't."

"Can I ask why you seem so surprised?" She realized it was a little blunt, but she was trying to understand Regina's reactions. Sure it was interesting that he seemed shy but liked fire trucks, but then most boys did.

"Well, it's just that he hasn't shown excitement for much of anything. I was actually…" Regina quieted down for a second and Emma could tell she was trying to decide whether or not to divulge personal things or not. Emma simply gave her a friendly smile and Regina slowly continued. "I was taking him to a child psychologist today."

"Really?" Emma questioned, but not unkindly.

"He's perfectly happy at home and when it's just the two of us, but when I bring him to daycare or leave him with a sitter, he refuses to interact with anyone. He won't socialize, or show any interest in anything. As soon as we're in the car though, he's a chatterbox again. You're the first person he's been comfortable enough to speak around."

"Wow." Emma looked back at Henry and waved when he grinned at them from her seat.

"Like that." Regina indicated the two of them. "He doesn't act this way with others."

"Well maybe it's the firefighter stuff. I mean a lot of kids really get into it." She shrugged, but she liked that she had a reason for Regina to like her.

"Perhaps."

"You know…" Emma started as a thought struck. "...what if you brought him by the station? He could see the whole building and the other trucks — see the other firefighters." She shrugged and could see Regina considering it. The other woman looked back to her son and when she saw the beaming grin and excitement, she couldn't help but smile back."

"Okay."


	5. Chapter 5

Emma hadn't really been nervous at work for sometime now. Perhaps slightly for a moment or two if she was on a particularly intense call, but in general, with a few years under her belt, she was rather confident now and didn't sweat much of anything.

Today though, there was something far less life or death that had her emotions rolling. Today, Regina was bringing Henry to the fire station for a tour and Emma felt more anxious than she had in awhile.

"White shirt!"

A warning was yelled by Robin from the from the front of the building and Emma rolled her eyes. It was a common occurrence around the department, that if you saw a Captain or Chief approaching, you warned the others so they got a moment to get themselves together. Which generally meant tucking in shirts, turning the TV off, and making yourself look busy. Emma never worried much though, because she was generally doing what she was supposed to anyway.

"Hey there Swan."

Emma smiled at her Captain. As far as officers go, Stevens was the one you wanted. He was far more relaxed and easy going and admittedly didn't like dealing with the paperwork of writing anyone up. He spent more time at her house than the others because it gave him the chance to catch up with his old crew.

"Hey Cap, what's going on?"

"Nothing much. Just doing the mail run." He shrugged.

"Really?" Emma asked with a small smirk. "Nothing else to mention?" She pushed and then her former lieutenant grinned. "Yeah that's what I thought. Spill."

"Hey, I didn't say anything." He lifted his hands but Emma wasn't having it.

"Don't forget who set you two up. I believe if anyone deserves to know something, it's me."

"Is that so?" The captain challenged, but was still smiling. "Just because you got me a number one night, doesn't mean—"

"Yes it does now will you just tell me? Ruby says you're acting up, so you better give me a reason to reassure her." Emma crossed her arms and the officer finally relented.

Instead of saying anything, he put his hand down into his pocket and lifted a small box out. He was still smiling as he opened it and showed Emma the ring inside.

"Oh my God." Emma said quietly and regarded the ring. "You're finally doing it." She said proudly.

"Hey, it's been a few years. That's a respectable amount of time."

"Well congratulations. I'll be sure to let Ruby know everything is normal on my end."

"Thank you. Last thing I need is for her to start snooping around in her worry and find something to spoil the surprise."

"No problem."

"So what's new with you?"

"Nothing." Emma lied and got a look that said her mentor wasn't having it.

"Emma you know the fire department is worse than a highschool when it comes to rumors. I heard you were flirting it up with some woman at the daycare last shift."

"I was not flirting it up with her, we were just talking." She blurted and Josh laughed.

"Well is she hot at least?" He asked and Emma blushed. "That's a resounding yes. She must be for you to invite her back for a tour." He finished and Emma tried not to be annoyed at how much information got passed around this place.

"Actually, do you remember my first fire — that brownstone apartment complex?" She asked and Josh squinted.

"I think so."

"You remember the woman who came storming in, demanding answers and yelling and stuff?"

"Umm, brunette? Slim with intense eyes and legs that make you drool a little?" Josh looked questioningly at Emma and the blonde was more than confused now.

"...yes."

"Yeah, you better go get her quick. Locksley is talking to her out on the apron right now."

Surprised, Emma turned and looked out beyond the bay doors to see Regina talking to Robin. She felt an uncomfortable kind of frustration and was embarrassed to realize she was actually jealous. Someone just talked to Regina and she was already jealous. But then Robin was a charmer and she had seen more than a few women fall for him quickly.

"Well I mean, it's not like anything is going to happen." Emma tried to say. "I mean she's gotta be married. I found her ring in that fire."

"Is she wearing it?" Josh asked and Emma realized she had no clue. She was quite distracted the other day and her ring finger wasn't the body part her eyes landed on the most.

"Well kid, I'd get out there if I were you. You can tell Robin I need to see him. That'll give you a head start." He literally gave Emma a small push, but the firefighter was too lost in her thoughts to notice. "Good luck!"

Emma didn't realize her feet were moving until she was already outside and making her way towards Regina and Robin. She noticed with a small amount of satisfaction, that not only was Henry curled completely into his mother, but when he saw Emma coming up towards them, he lifted his head and waved to her.

"Hey kid." Emma greeted him before Regina turned around and gave her a polite smile. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, Miss Swan." Regina inclined her head.

"Are you guys ready for the tour?"

"Yes!" Henry responded enthusiastically and Regina smiled to her son, seemingly happy just to see him happy.

"Ah, you're here for a tour? I can help you with that." Robin grinned and Emma saw that signature look aimed at Regina. She liked Robin, but right now, she like more to kick him in the shin.

"Actually, Captain Stevens said he needed to see you. Not sure what that's about." Emma shrugged and almost smiled at the look of frustration on her fellow crew member's face.

"I'll catch up later then." He nodded towards Regina and Henry. "Have fun."

Emma felt a small amount of relief when Regina noticeably didn't respond to Robin or watch him leave. Instead, both the woman and her son had their attention on Emma and the young firefighter turned to walk them inside. But not before glancing down and noticing that Regina was in fact _not_ wearing anything on her ring finger.

Regina didn't look like another person, Emma realized. She didn't seem like the woman who was ready to verbally and maybe even physically assault anyone who got in her way a few years back, was gone. It more seemed as if she'd learned to be more patient and calm, but if she needed to, she was ready to rip someone a new one at any given moment. Emma supposed it made sense, what with her being a mother now. But she liked the thought of the feisty woman being just under the surface.

She was used to giving generic tours, so knowing how to systematically walk them around the building in a simple way which gave her a way to start without feeling so nervous. She walked them through the bay and let Henry see where the truck he's been in sat while it wasn't being used. He was excited to see it again and even more so when Emma let him sit in the driver's seat and Regina took his picture.

Emma offered to take some of the mother and son together and butterflies were flying wild in her stomach again when Regina smiled right at her as she took some photos of them around the trucks. Henry was so excited that he kept requesting more pictures and even asked if his mom would take one of him and Emma as well.

Emma was more than a little flattered and found herself happy to take the picture with the child.

"I'm heading out Emma." Stevens called as he walked into the bay from the kitchen. Emma looked over in time so see him fake a surprised look and walk over to them. "Oh I'm sorry Ma'am, I didn't mean to interrupt." He spoke politely.

"It's quite alright. I know we're interrupting your day here by stopping by."

"No no, not at all. You're more than welcome. And how about you sir, are you having fun?" Stevens looked to the little boy who seemed to shy down slightly, but to Regina's surprise, actually stood his ground without shrinking away.

"Yeah." He answered quietly but that was more than Regina could ask for. She was practically beaming at seeing her son open up like this away from home and in front of others.

"Well good. Would you like me to get a picture of all three of you?" He asked and Emma realized immediately what he was doing.

"Oh that's okay, I don't-"

"Yeah!" Henry's excitement interrupted Emma's objection. She looked to Regina, but the other woman simply carried Henry to stand next to his favorite truck, her own Engine 25, and waited for Emma to come over.

Trying not to show her nerves, Emma moved to stand next to the mother and son. She knew everyone else in the room would find it ridiculous that something so simple and innocent made her heart race, but Emma couldn't deny it.

She stepped next to Regina and Henry, leaving a respectable few inches between herself and them, and turned towards Stevens. She tried to just relax and smile, but then of course it wouldn't be that easy.

"Emma, move closer." Her Captain ordered and Emma wanted to glare at the man for pushing her.

Emma moved another inch closer to the woman and paused. She felt like such an awkward teenager now and knew it was ridiculous, but she couldn't help it. Then just before Stevens finally took the picture, Regina adjusted Henry on her hip and leaned more to the side, making her bump against Emma and then, snap. The flash went off and Emma prayed it didn't show the moment her heart skipped a beat.

"Thank you." Regina spoke up and took her phone back from the Captain. The man nodded his head and left after a few more good bye's.

Emma wanted to dunk her head in cold water. This woman made her a mess and they'd barely interacted. A few words here and there, a couple glances and one touch and Emma thought she was going to explode.

She continued their tour inside and tried to get herself back together. Part of her just wanted to expedite the trip and get it over with so she could relax again, but then the thought of them leaving made her deflate completely.

"So you stay here for twenty-four hours straight?" Regina's question snapped Emma back and she immediately shook off her nerves to focus on the captivating woman.

"Yeah. Yeah, so we come in at seven a.m. and stay until the next morning."

"Isn't that kind of exhausting?" Regina asked as they walked down the hallway, her son holding her hand by her side.

"It can be, depending on how the shift goes. But then we get the next two days off. We just work every three days so we can relax in between."

"I suppose that's nice, but I need my bed." Regina smiled and between the look and the fact that mentioning her bed immediately put an image in Emma's head, the blonde firefighter almost choked on her response.

"Um, yeah that's definitely a crappy part of the job. Big open rooms with lots of snoring men, trying to sleep on an old twin bed."

"Where's your bed?" Henry asked and Emma smiled at the excitable boy.

"Right in here." Emma led them inside the bunk room and pointed towards one of the mattresses. She laughed when Henry jumped right onto it.

"Henry, honey-"

"It's okay." Emma quickly assured.

"Thank you for doing this. Henry, he...he just—"

"I understand." Emma stopped Regina and the woman turned more fully to face her. "I mean, I don't exactly know your son, but when I was a little kid, I didn't want anything to do with anyone. Everyone thought I was just a bad kid, but I just didn't trust anyone."

"Did your parents force you into therapy as well?" She asked and Emma remembered how Regina mentioned the psychologist the other day. She smiled and shook her head.

"No, I didn't have parents. So you can probably attribute my behavior and lack of trust to that." She spoke lightheartedly, but then Regina paused to regard her. Emma tried not to feel awkward for opening up.

Maybe her discomfort showed, because Regina nodded and then turned back to her son.

"Are you ready to move on, sweetheart?"

"What's next?" He asked and Emma knew there wasn't much else of the station to show them, but she knew what would probably get him excited.

"Well, would you like to get your very own firefighter helmet?" She asked and grinned when he lept off the bed.

"Momma!"

"I heard." Regina picked Henry up from the bed and carried him back towards Emma.

They made their way through the building and Emma brought them to the office. They kept plastic helmets around just for tours and she got one out for him, along with some stickers and one of the fire department's key chains.

Henry lit up when he saw it all and Emma noticed Regina was still reacting to his happiness. She was more than glad to see Regina smile and know she was helping with that.

"You know, I think you're still missing something." Emma remarked and tapped her chin. "Follow me."

Emma took them back towards the locker rooms and held the door for them to follow. Regina hesitated, but Emma was quick to reassure her.

"I'm the only woman here. I have the whole place to myself."

Once inside, Emma opened up her locker and looked through the clothes there. After a few seconds, she pulled one of the shirts out and handed it over to Henry.

"It's still going to be ridiculously huge on him, but I shrunk it pretty bad, so there's that." She laughed. Henry was already pulling the shirt over his head with an enthusiasm Emma hadn't seen yet.

"You don't have to do that." Regina tried to object but Emma was already shaking her head.

"Please, It's nothing. Plus, it's worth it to see him so excited."

Emma didn't fail to notice what looked like a surprised but appreciative glance from Regina from her words.

"Momma look!" Henry even put his new helmet on as well and stood up straight to show his mom his new get-up.

"I see, honey. You look amazing. What do you say to Miss Swan?"

"Thank you." Henry said sweetly and leaned in to hug Emma's legs.

Emma leaned down to hug him back.

"You're welcome, Henry. And please, call me Emma." She looked over to Regina.

"Thank you, Emma, for everything today. We appreciate you going out of your way. You really didn't have to."

"There's no need. I really enjoyed myself." And that was true. Despite her nerves, Emma loved every minute of their visit. Henry was a joy to see, simply because he was so excited by everything and then Regina — well Emma enjoyed just the sight of the woman, let alone actually getting to interact for more than a few minutes.

They were all still standing in the locker room and suddenly, Emma started feeling awkward again. She wanted to see them again, but didn't know how else to make that happen. She couldn't very well invite them back for another tour. It would be silly and Regina would probably think Emma was weird or desperate.

Emma also knew though, that she would never hear the end of it from Josh if she didn't ask Regina out. This was her opportunity and if she missed it, they'd remind her of the failure for as long as they could.

She could just ask. The worst case scenario was that Regina said no, but what were the chances that they'd run into one another again? It was random that it happened twice, but a third time by accident? Too much of a coincidence to worry about it. She should just ask.

"Well I suppose we should be going."

 _Damn_

Emma realized she'd let her inner monologue run over so long she missed the open opportunity and Regina was already turning towards the door.

"Of course." Emma replied reluctantly. "I'll um...I'll walk you out."

They made it back towards the front of the building before they were interrupted.

"Did I miss it?" Robin came around the corner and stepped right up to the group of three.

"Yeah we just finished up." Emma spoke up and started to walk around her co-worker, but then Robin just turned to face Regina more fully.

"Well is there anything else we can help you with? I can probably find something else for the boy." He suggested and turned the charming smile up even more. Emma wanted to vomit.

"I think Emma spoiled him enough for one day. But thank you." Regina replied politely and stepped around Robin.

"You know…" He started again and Emma's teeth clenched. "...I don't mean to be so forward, but I've really enjoyed meeting you. I would love to take you out sometime, if you'd like?"

Emma knew Robin was rather forward with women. He picked them up while on duty on a regular basis and was rarely, if ever, turned down. Women had a thing for firefighters, as her mentor liked to remind her, and with Robin being from Ireland, he had the accent to go along and he generally had no problem getting any date he wanted.

Until today, it seemed.

"You're right, that _was_ forward. But I like forward." Regina started and Robin grinned. "So I'll be equally so when I say I'd rather go out with Emma here, than yourself, but thank you for the invitation."

"How's Friday?"

Emma couldn't figure out who was more shocked. Robin, for not only being turned down by a woman, but turned down _for_ a woman. Regina, for making the off hand remark about going out with Emma, only to be faced with an actual invitation a second later. Or Emma herself, for blurting out the first thing that came to mind when Regina said she'd rather date her than Robin.

She never did things like that. She made a few small attempts here and there with women who were clearly interested or she was the one accepting invitations from others. But Emma never just blurted something like that out without filtering herself. Her problem was that she'd miss opportunities completely as she had that moment earlier by staying silent when she wanted to speak. But she wasn't the type to just speak first and think later. This was new and Emma was afraid of what she'd just done.

Trying to control her breathing and not appear ready to pass out in front of the others, Emma looked up to see a very confused and not so happy look on Robin's face. She would deal with him later though. She knew he'd call her out for "taking" someone he wanted, but she could just as easily throw it back at him for stepping in when she was with Regina in the first place. He knew she was gay and wouldn't be able to play dumb.

She timidly looked at Regina finally and saw the woman focused quite hard on her. Emma could feel Regina's gaze heating her skin and was positive she was actually hearing her heart beat loudly enough for the others to notice.

Just when she was starting to think through how to joke her way out of the invite, Regina stopped her.

"It's a date."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. Please review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Emma was trying to keep herself busy. Normally, she didn't think about time while she was at work. Being there for an entire day made it easier for them to just settle in at work and forget the clock until the next morning. But then it was thursday afternoon and Emma knew she had exactly seventeen and a half more hours until her shift ended, and then eleven more hours after that until she needed to be picking Regina up from her apartment.

Counting the minutes made the time go by excruciatingly slow and there was only so many times that Emma could sweep the same halls and clean the same windows. She was finishing up work on some of the hydraulic tools when the tones finally dropped for a call and Emma was relieved for the opportunity to focus on her work.

Their crew arrived first on scene for a car accident and Emma took a brief second to appreciate that she'd just serviced the tools they'd need to help the entrapped patient.

She didn't stop though, and immediately got to work pulling out cribbing while August set up the hydraulic tools and Robin secured the truck.

It showed that they worked together for years now. All three moved quickly and efficiently and within seconds, were meeting up at the car, tools in hand and ready to start. Just as Robin lifted the spreaders to start opening the driver's door, the ladder crew showed up on scene, followed by their Captain and a medic crew on standby.

As Robin started prying the door open, Emma reached inside towards the woman in the driver's seat. She was conscious and alert, but crying and saying that her leg was hurting. The more the door opened, the more she could reach in and managed to lay a hand on the woman's hip.

"Hold on, I need to move."

Emma looked up and saw Robin was closing the spreaders to change positions and get a new bite. It was normal to have to move around a bit until you could pop the door fully open, so Emma started to pull her hand back to wait.

"You're fine," Robin reassured, "It's not going to come towards you."

Emma reached back inside and continued to check over the patient, noting quickly that it was certainly broken.

"Need a break?" Jefferson walked up behind Robin and laid a hand on his shoulder. The tools weighed nearly forty pounds a piece so it never mattered how strong you were, holding them up without dropping your arms was exhausting for everyone.

"Sure mate, thanks." Robin moved out and Jefferson grabbed the Jaws from him, lifting them up into the air and shoving the tip into the doorframe to start working again.

Emma tried to reassure the woman crying from her seat. She understood the tears though. She could feel the obvious deformity in her lower leg and knew the pain much be immense. She was trying to comfort her with her words and reached up to squeeze her hand, before there was a sudden, intense pain in her own arm.

"Ah!" Emma yelled out, startling the woman still trapped in her seat, as well as the men behind her.

"What, what is it?" August came up beside the car just as Jefferson released the button on the spreaders and both looked down to see exactly why Emma had cried out.

The second Jefferson saw Emma's arm pinned between the door and the post, he immediately started to try to maneuver the tool again.

"Stop! Don't move anything. Emma, talk to me." August kept one hand to ensure the tool stayed in place, while trying to bend down towards Emma.

"I don't think it's that bad," Emma started, trying to stay calm, "it's just pinned and it hurts a little. I don't think it's broken." She was mostly honest. She really didn't think it was broken, but it sure hurt like hell. The problem was, that they had a patient inches away in real pain and with actual broken bones and Emma knew she needed to keep it together.

"Alright, try not to move, alright?" He started and Emma nodded. "Locksley, get your hands on this door. I'm going to change positions and when I start pushing this out, I need you to pull the door away from them, got it?"

"Got it, boss."

Robin wrapped a piece of webbing around the top section of the door and placed his other hand into the frame right next to Emma's arm.

"What the hell is going on here?" Captain Stevens walked up from where he'd been catching up with the officers on scene and moved right up to the car. "Swan?"

"I was opening the door, but when I moved it next to the hinge, it jerked closed again on Emma's arm." Jefferson explained, looking worried at the damage he just caused.

"Get back." He ordered the fireman and Jefferson's nerves visibly multiplied as his cheeks reddened significantly.

The Captain moved next to Robin and Emma and placed his hands around the other man's, by Emma's arm. August moved the Jaws of Life back to Emma's side of the door and didn't waste a second pushing the metal apart.

Robin and Josh pulled the door as August used the tool and in only a second, Emma's arm was released and the young firefighter pulled away and stood up.

Cradling her arm, Emma took a few seconds to evaluate the appendage. It hurt more than she was ready to admit and some of the skin was broken with some minor bleeding, but other than that, no bones seemed to be broken and she knew it could have been significantly worse.

"Let's see." The Captain came over to see the damage and Emma was quick to reassure them that everything was okay. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the man from summoning another ambulance to take her to get checked out.

"I don't want to go to the hospital, Cap, _please_."

"It's policy, Emma, and you've got a nasty bruise here — you're bleeding…I'm sorry."

* * *

Emma shook her head as she looked at herself in the mirror. She'd been trying on different outfits all day long and couldn't make a decision. She liked the simple, sleeveless black dress she normally got out for first dates, but looking at the ugly bruise and bulky bandaging around her arm, Emma knew that outfit wouldn't have worked for tonight.

The problem was, that everything long sleeved, didn't feel nice enough to match Regina. The woman was classier than anyone Emma had ever dated and she wasn't sure she was capable of even coming close.

She tried on her nicest long sleeved black shirt and her dressiest pants, but realized quickly, that she looked better prepared for a job interview than a date. Emma sighed when she came to the conclusion that it was time to go shopping.

She supposed there was a silver lining to the accident the day before. It sucked because her arm constantly ached and being taken to the ER during shift was completely embarrassing, but since Robin had told their Captain that he was the one that told her to put her arm back in, Emma herself had no more consequences other than a brief word to be more careful in the future. But the silver lining was that being sent home so early yesterday, allowed for her to start her panic over her clothes early enough to have time to fix it before her date.

She ended up calling her friend, Ruby, to meet her at Marshalls for a quick shopping trip. Ruby was more than willing to head out for the afternoon and the two didn't waste anytime.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Ruby asked as she started sifting through racks.

"I don't really know. I've never gone on a date with someone like Regina. It has to be nice and it has to cover this crap." She gestured toward her arm.

"Alright, well we can find something like that. How do you feel about this?" Ruby held up a flower print dress that was bedazzled around the neck and sleeves. Emma gave Ruby a look that said she was not amused and not in the mood for jokes. "Alright, alright, something else then."

They spent the better part of an hour trying on dress after dress after dress and Emma was starting to get discouraged. Everything was either too dressy or not enough and she was ready to throw in the towel.

"What about this?"

Emma looked over to see Ruby holding up a nice, dressy — but not over the top — long-sleeved white shirt. Emma actually felt like she liked the garment, which was a pleasant change from everything else she'd seen in the last hour.

"I think that's a dress more appropriate for a second date, if you ask me." She smirked as Ruby rolled her eyes.

"It's a _shirt_ that would look amazing with some well fitted, skinny legged pants." She turned around for a second before presenting another hanger. "Like these!"

Emma tilted her head as she looked between the articles of clothing. She'd spent all day going back and forth, but now, after a few seconds, Emma finally smiled and gave a nod of approval.

* * *

Emma put the final touches on her makeup and stood back to check herself out in the mirror. She genuinely liked the outfit Ruby found and felt far more confident in the pants and shirt than any of the dresses she tried. Emma never really was one for them anyway.

Just as she was finally feeling psyched up for the evening, Emma's phone rang and her stomach did a little turn when she saw Regina's name on the ID.

"Hello?"

 **"** ** _Emma, how are you?_** **"**

"I'm great. How are you?" Emma wasn't sure why Regina was calling only minutes before their date, but it made her slightly nervous.

 **"** ** _I have some bad news…_** **"** **Regina started and Emma immediately started to deflate. "** ** _My sitter just cancelled and I'm afraid it's too late for me to find a replacement. I have limited options for Henry, as I'm sure you can understand._** **"**

"Of course…" Emma tried to keep the disappointment from her tone. It wasn't Regina's fault after all.

 **"** ** _So, what I was wondering, was if you would be willing to come here for dinner and have our date at the house._** **"**

"Oh, of course, totally." Emma was so relieved she realized she sounded a little over enthusiastic, but she didn't care.

 **"** ** _Thank you Emma, I appreciate you understanding._** **"**

"No problem. I was actually just about to leave, if you're ready for me to come over."

 **"** ** _Sounds perfect_** **."**

* * *

Emma took a deep breath. This might not be a burning hot door with a smouldering fire behind it, but she approached it the same way. She paused and calmed herself and reminded herself that she was okay, that she knew what to do and how to handle this. She summoned all the courage she needed to move forward and after another second and another breath, Emma finally lifted her hand and knocked.

The butterflies were flying high tonight. Emma stomach started fluttering the second she heard heels clicking against hardwood. The louder they got, the harder her heart pounded in her chest. It seemed that four years hadn't made much of a difference in regards to Regina's effect on her because as soon as she opened the door, Emma was brought back to that time right after her first fire when the most breathtaking moment, was the one when her eyes met Regina's.

"Emma." Regina smiled and Emma saw her eyes move up and down for the briefest second. "I'm glad you made it. Come in."

Emma followed the brunette inside and took the opportunity to admire her. Emma was glad she didn't change her own outfit just because of the change in venue, because it was clear Regina still dressed for a real date.

She thought purple was her least favorite color, but on Regina, she found her mind changing instantly. The dress she wore hugged the slim frame of the intimidating woman in all the right places. Her arms were left bare, along with a generous portion of her neck and chest and Emma knew she'd have trouble focusing tonight.

"You look really nice, Regina." She managed to speak audibly enough and was rewarded with a kind smile in response.

"Thank you. You do as well, dear. If you'd like to join me in the kitchen, I still have some work to do on dinner."

Emma walked through the immaculate apartment in awe. She only ever got the chance to see places like this when she was working and it was always in and out — nothing more. She never got the chance to just enjoy and admire one of these homes. She was more than a little curious as to what Regina did for a living.

"Your place is incredible." She stated just before following Regina into the kitchen, which was equally as amazing in Emma's opinion.

"Thank you. I am very lucky." Regina turned towards the stove. "I hope you like lasagna."

"Love it." Emma said and meant it. It was one of her favorite foods, actually, and the moment Regina opened the stove and the smell hit her, she had to consciously put effort into not drooling.

Instead, she focused on light conversation and helping Regina get the food ready. They made their way out to the dining room where Regina had already set the table and placed their food down.

"I can't decide if it looks better or smells better, but I'm very excited."

"Good." Regina grinned, but Emma could see the genuine pride in her eyes.

Emma took her first taste of the lasagna and had to force back a moan. Regina's cooking was far superior to the frozen meals she was used to. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to go back to Stouffer's again.

"So how was your week?" Emma asked, just wanting to start conversation again.

"Better than normal, I'd have to say."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Well it's been a new experience having Henry so excited about something. He has not been able to stop going on and on about our visit to your station. I think he's found a new obsession." Regina sipped from her wine casually, leaning back in her chair slightly.

"Well that's good to hear. I'm usually not a fan of the daycare visits, but it looks like this one was well worth it." Emma believed that wholeheartedly.

"You don't like dealing with all the kids, or is it that Miss Blanchard?" Regina asked with a noticeable hint of distaste in her tone.

"Mary Margaret?" Emma let out a laugh. "No, it's not her, she's great. Why, you don't like her or something?" Emma asked and saw Regina shrug. It was interesting to see some of that personality she remembered from when they'd first met, again.

"Let's just say, I don't generally prefer her company." Regina left it at that and took another sip of her wine, before placing the glass down and reaching for her fork again. "So I assume then, that you don't love teaching the room full of children."

"No, of course not, I just…" Emma trailed off when she saw Regina's disbelieving look. "Okay well...let's just say, I don't prefer their company." She gave a small grin and saw Regina's lip turn up every so slightly. "But I like Henry." Emma quickly added.

"Of course."

"No, I'm— I'm actually being serious. I can relate to him, at least as far as how he reacts to everyone. And it's really cool to see him have someone who wants to figure out how to help him." She finished kindly and Regina smiled again.

"So how did you come to be a firefighter?" Regina changed topics and Emma swallowed another piece of her dinner before answering.

"Well, I remember being interested in it for a long time. I remember being a little kid and getting to check out the trucks like Henry did and getting kind of fixated on it. When I was in high school, they had these explorer programs you could do to train at fire stations. I used to get in trouble a lot and my guidance counselor ended up convincing the school to let me do the program instead of more detentions."

"So how long have you been working now?"

"Uh, just over four years now." Emma nodded and took her last bite from her plate. She wasn't sure how it disappeared so quickly.

"So the first time we met, you must have just started." Regina remarked, with a concentrated look.

"Yeah, actually, yours was my very first fire." She smiled when Regina's eyebrows rose.

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Well then I'm glad I treated you so well afterwards." She spoke sarcastically and Emma laughed.

"Yes well, you certainly made an impression. Anyway, that's enough about me. What do you do for a living?" She was genuinely curious. This kind of place in the city must cost a fortune.

"Have you heard of the Mills Foundation?" She asked and Emma slowly nodded before her eyebrows rose.

"The same Mills Foundation that funds all those religious extremist groups?" She asked skeptically and Regina let out a slow sigh before placing her glass down.

"It is the same foundation, but we no longer support any of those entities. That was how my mother and father ran things, but after they passed, I have been working hard to change the image of my company. I'm sure it's not hard to believe that I wouldn't want to support any of those groups."

"Wow. Well that's really amazing then." Emma felt bad for assuming, but then she remembered hearing all about the Mills Foundation after it was revealed who exactly they were supporting. "So your parents passed away and you took over the whole company? That's pretty big."

"Yes well, my parents had groomed me for years to work in their world. I was interning in middle school and spent nearly as many hours there as they did during summers. This was always their plan, though I'm sure they'd roll over in their graves to know what I've done since getting my hands on everything."

Emma watched Regina for a minute. She knew there was so much to this woman, and she wasn't even close to scratching the surface. What she could see so far though, certainly intrigued her.

"So, what do you do for fun?"

"I have a four year old, so this is it right here." Regina joked and Emma grinned in response.

"So does that mean you're having fun?" She saw Regina roll her eyes slightly, but she was smiling.

"I'm enjoying myself, yes." She finished off her glass of wine and Emma matched her, setting her own down simultaneously. "Would you like another?"

Emma nodded yes and accepted the refill, gratefully.

* * *

Emma set the glass down a little harder than she intended and flinched slightly. She looked up to check Regina's reaction and saw a momentarily disapproving look, before she noted the brunette's lip turn up just enough to prove the woman wasn't angry. Then again, Regina had also just finished her third glass as well and was probably feeling more forgiving than normal.

Emma made sure the glass wasn't cracked, before following Regina to her den to try what she had claimed was "the best apple cider" she'd ever tasted. Emma wasn't big on cider, but the more the evening had progressed and the two got to know each other, the more she felt attracted to Regina and she was ready to agree to pretty much anything to continue their date.

After handing over the new glass, filled with the amber liquid, Regina poured one for herself and made slow steps towards the couch. Emma watched every one of them, until the brunette caught her eyes.

They were both obviously feeling some slight effects from their wine and Emma knew the cider would add to that, but she didn't feel any kind of numbing from the alcohol. She felt more alert and excited than she had in a long time, even with her particular job experience. This was on a different level for Emma and the blonde was more than happy to explore this kind of adrenaline rush.

"You don't have to just stare." Regina gave what Emma had quickly come to realize was her signature smirk as the firefighter blinked out of her thoughts and startled slightly.

"Sorry, I just..."

"Just what, dear?" Regina pushed and Emma realized that maybe the wine had taken away some of the softer cover Regina had because of her son. This sounded like the woman Emma met years ago and the tone made her heart beat a little faster.

"Just got lost in my thoughts." She admitted with a shrug. Regina studied her for a second before standing and coming closer to the blonde.

"And what exactly were you thinking about?" She pushed again, coming even closer.

"You." Emma was caught in Regina's eyes and felt her excitement grow as the other woman continued closing the distance.

"What about me?" Regina sipped at her drink before tilting her head just slightly.

"Just that you're reminding me of when we met."

"When I yelled at you on your first day even after you risked your life for me?" Regina asked bluntly and Emma could see she was taken aback now.

"That's not what I meant." She immediately jumped in. "I just mean how confident and everything that you were."

"Oh, so I'm not confident anymore?" Regina stared at her and Emma started shaking her head.

"No, no, I didn't mean— I'm not—"

"Because I would _really_ hope that just because I have a child now and I try to be a better person for him, that you wouldn't make the assumption that I have lost any confidence."

"Regina, I didn't—"

"Because, dear, if I _had_ , I wouldn't know for a fact that I could get away with this."

Emma was still trying to catch up with Regina's words and think of another response when the woman just stepped right into her space and stole anything she could think to say, right from her mouth.

Regina's lips just took Emma's and the firefighter didn't even think she could pull away. If she wanted to, that is, and Emma most certainly knew that was the last thing she wanted to do.

If just looking at Regina could make Emma's heart race, then you can only imagine what kissing her did. Emma could hear her heart pounding and wondered if Regina could too. If she did, it obviously wasn't enough to deter her because Regina moved her free hand to the back of Emma's neck and in another move that proved she hadn't lost an ounce of confidence, she parted her lips just enough.

Emma wasn't one to waste opportunities. She deepened the kiss with Regina and clumsily set her glass down on the table beside her to free up her hands. She knew Regina must have done the same, because just as she moved her hands to the other woman's hips, she felt Regina's go to her arms.

She knew this was the kiss books tried to describe and movies tried to show. This was the fireworks moment that let you know this person was the one to keep. She felt dizzy as the electricity between them flowed and nearly stumbled as she got so lost in the feel of the other woman.

She felt Regina's hands sliding down her arms and slid hers up the brunette's sides. She was just starting to pull her closer when her mind registered a sudden pain and she flinched before she could control the reaction.

"What's wrong?" Regina frowned after Emma broke the kiss suddenly. Emma herself looked a little confused and then shook her head lightly as she held the arm Regina had just squeezed.

"Oh nothing, I just got hurt yesterday and I totally forgot about it." She laughed despite the dull throb from having the wound gripped too tightly.

"Let me see." Regina didn't even hesitate as she stepped back up to Emma and lifted her sleeve.

"Well it's bandaged, but really, it's nothing."

"What happened?" Regina asked, lifting the corner of the white cloth and frowning at the discoloration she could see.

"Just a mishap at a car accident yesterday." She shrugged but Regina looked expectantly at her and she realized she needed to explain further. "I had my arm inside a car when one of the other guys was using the jaws to pry it the rest of the way open. But, instead of it pushing out like he thought, one of the hinges didn't pop and the door turned back and pinned me."

Regina was obviously concentrating and trying to picture the scenario Emma was explaining. She was frowning the entire time though, and Emma hoped she didn't make herself sound stupid for the mistake.

Silently, Regina motioned for Emma to follow her. Slightly confused but curious, Emma walked behind her and into the kitchen. She quickly understood when Regina went to her freezer and pulled out a bag of peas.

"It's really okay, Regina."

"I can see it's swollen and you should know better than most, that you need ice and rest to heal properly." She looked sternly at Emma and the blonde found herself, once again, happy to see the more forward woman.

"Okay okay. Ice it is." She held the peas over the bandage and tried not to make a face at her discomfort. Regina poured glasses of water before sitting opposite her and taking in a slow breath.

"So do accidents like this happen often?" She asked with her eyes on Emma as the blonde shrugged.

"I mean it depends. Nothing like this has happened in awhile. We're all pretty careful, but you can't account for everything. Like a couple months back when Leroy got cut by that heroin overdose. We woke him up and he acted cool, then just pulled a knife out of nowhere and got him right in the shoulder." Emma was speaking casually until she caught Regina's concerned expression. "Oh he's fine. He was back to work like two weeks later and uses that scar on any woman that'll give him the time of day." She joked but Regina didn't look thrilled.

"Anything else?"

"Well, there was the time Marco got steamed really bad when he went into a house with his crew and a guy from the three's sprayed a deck gun into the room they were in. They all got it but Marco ended up in the hospital for a day or so. That's when he started talking about retirement.

"Then there was the time Jones got shoved down a flight of steps by two drunk guys. He ended up with a broken arm from that. Then one time..."

Emma went on for another few minutes, casually talking about the injuries sustained by the other members of her department. Regina sat quietly and listened, not giving any more comments through Emma's stories.

"I think that's it, as far as I've worked there." She said as she looked off in thought. When she looked over and noted Regina's demeanor, she quickly added, "I mean it could be way way worse. It is a fire department, after all." She laughed lightly and got a small, but noticeably forced smile from Regina.

"That's certainly true." There was a deeper tone in her voice then, that Emma hadn't noticed before. She frowned slightly as Regina stood. "Thank you for coming for dinner tonight." She spoke politely, but Emma could feel something was off.

"Um, is everything okay?" She stood up as well and left Regina's makeshift ice pack on the counter.

"Everything is fine. It's getting late though, and I have to be up with Henry in the morning."

"Right, I understand." Emma managed to hide the disappointment from her tone and followed Regina towards the front door. "So, I had a really nice time." She said genuinely and hoped that she hadn't ruined everything the moment she accidentally broke their kiss.

"I did too, dear." She still had the lower tone to her voice and Emma tried not to overthink it.

"Maybe...maybe we could do it again, sometime?" Emma's hopeful tone was certainly noticed, but Regina didn't react in the way Emma imagined.

"Actually, I don't think this is going to work out. But thank you for a lovely evening." Regina allowed one more small smile before closing the door in front of Emma.

* * *

 **HYDRAULIC TOOLS - SPREADERS - JAWS= The Jaws of Life are a particular brand of hydraulic spreaders. Hydraulic just refers to the way the tools operate, and that's with fluid under pressure. Generally, most department carry spreaders, which are widely known as "The Jaws of Life", cutters, which look sort of like giant, curved scissors, and rams, which are mostly used to push the dash of a car away from the frame. It widens the door opening and can release anyone trapped inside.**

 **I only used the word "Jaws" to try to make it clear what I was referring to in the chapter, but in reality, most people don't really call them that because it's a brand name. They are hydraulic tools, so while working, they're referred to as the spreaders, cutters, or the ram. They're all ridiculously heavy, but they can be used to completely rip a car apart in only minutes - so that's pretty dope.**

 **When using these tools, you have to maintain as much control over everything as possible because you can't always force the metal to bend the right ways. If you don't keep control, things can snap away dangerously or bend in a way that can hurt others, like in this chapter.**

 **CRIBBING - Cribbing is a set of blocks used to stabilize a car. They can be as simple as individual blocks of wood built up together, or can be specifically cut blocks of other material made only for this purpose. It just depends on the department and what they wanted to use. But whatever the exact type, they're placed under different parts of the car to keep it from moving. Especially if someone is trapped under a car, you make sure there is no way the car can fall back down.**


	7. Chapter 7

Regina finished loading the plates from dinner into the dishwasher before collecting the wine glasses. She took her time, washing them by hand and replacing them neatly into the cabinet. It wasn't until everything was perfectly back in place, that she finally made her way down the hall.

Slowly, she moved about her room, removing her jewelry and stepping in front of the mirror. She tilted her head slightly as she regarded her own reflection. She'd chosen this dress carefully and though the evening had not gone as she'd hoped, she still smiled slightly.

She knew Emma wouldn't have remembered what she'd worn the day they'd met, but she found it poetic to repeat the outfit. She only remembered because she couldn't forget the day her apartment went up in flames and it happened to be after an event with her company. She'd worn that dress because it easily grabbed the attention of others and she'd needed that ability to gain support.

Wanting to gain the attention of a particular individual, Regina found it appropriate to wear the dress for their date. She had to search for a little while. She hadn't worn the dress in over a year, but it was worth it. She saw Emma's eyes linger more than a few times.

She let out a sigh before finally taking down the zipper along her side and stepping out of the dress. She carefully replaced it in her closet and climbed into her queen bed.

Just as she leaned over towards her bedside lamp, her eyes caught the photo on the table next to her. She brushed a finger over the uniformed officer pictured within, before finally cutting the light of and beginning and long and sleepless night.

* * *

She felt their eyes on her and it irritated her even more. She knew she was in a bad mood, she didn't need them gawking at her on top of it. She should have known though, firehouses were like high schools. Everybody always had to know everyone's business.

She didn't feel like opening up. She didn't feel like explaining that she'd finally had an amazing date, only to be rejected at the end of the night with no explanation.

She had no explanation, herself. She had no idea what went wrong that Regina went from kissing her to shooing her out the door. She felt like the night had gone by so well and was sure the other woman was at least somewhat interested in her as well. Regina was hard to read, but she asked a lot of questions and seemed to care when she realized Emma was hurt.

She'd spent days going over it. She'd called Regina twice without an answer, before finally accepting the complete rejection and sparing herself any more embarrassment. She spent a lifetime being dismissed by others when she just wasn't good enough. As an adult, she'd promised herself she wouldn't let anyone control her feelings like that again.

If only it were that easy…

" _What_?" She finally snapped. She couldn't ignore Robin out of the corner of her eye any longer and it was just too grating at this point.

"Wow, Swan, why don't you take it down a notch." He acted as though he hadn't been awkwardly staring for nearly thirty minutes straight.

"Why don't you worry about yourself?" She gave it right back to him and the man looked completely taken aback.

"How about everyone just cools off for a bit, yeah?" August finally decided to step in, much to Emma's annoyance. He hadn't felt the need to say anything before.

She was saved by the bell, so to speak, when the tones in the station dropped and signaled their next call.

* * *

"Soooo?" The drawn out word came from her former lieutenant and Emma turned to see him grinning at her. Without a word, Emma turned back around and continued sweeping glass and bits of broken plastic and metal from the road. "Okay that's not good."

Josh stepped around Emma to face her and saw the sour expression on her face.

"That bad, _really_?" He asked disbelievingly.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Swan, come on. Talk to me." The Captain grabbed another broom from the truck and joined her. Officers generally weren't the ones sweeping up after accidents, but then Stevens had always been far more humble than most.

"I don't even know what to say." She admitted. "I thought everything was going great, and then without any explanation, she completely blew me off."

"What do you mean by 'blew you off'?"

Emma pushed the pile of broken pieces a little harder than necessary towards the car and let out a frustrated huff.

"I mean she ended the date and when I asked if she'd like to go out again, she said she didn't think it was going to work out. But the whole date seemed to go great."

"Huh...she gave you no indication whatsoever that she wasn't into it?"

"No, I mean she's really hard to read, but as the date when on, she was being more open and seemed to be really interested in hearing about things. And _she_ kissed _me_." Emma added and made sure to be clear.

"And that...went well?" Josh asked, curiously. Emma rolled her eyes, but nodded.

"I thought it was perfect. I accidentally broke the kiss when she squeezed my arm, but it had been perfect up until that point. Then she was really nice and got me ice and everything."

"Did you tell her about the accident?" He asked as he stopped sweeping.

"Yeah, well, she asked about it. But I told her about all the other stuff that happens, and you know, this was nothing compared to what can go down here." She finished and Josh was nodding slowly.

"Yeah, you freaked her out."

Emma stopped and turned towards her officer, who just stared, knowingly.

"What do you mean?"

"Swan, you're a firefighter. It's one of the most dangerous jobs in the world and I'll bet anything that she came to a quick realization of what she was getting herself into when you blabbed about everyone getting hurt."

"I didn't blab-"

"It happens to all of us. Hell, my ex-wife divorced me over the exact same thing. People don't like knowing the ones they care about could leave them in the blink of an eye. Generally, you hope they're in too deep before they realize it so they decide to stick with you. Of course it didn't work with my wife, but that's what you have to do to stand a chance. Your lady is bailing before she gets in too deep."

Emma frowned as she looked off. She guessed it made sense, but then she was even more frustrated. She hadn't thought about what she was saying at the time and the realization that she ruined everything by opening her big, fat mouth just pissed her off even more.

She wondered if there was a way to fix this. To convince Regina that it wasn't as bad as she thought and they were worth at least a shot. She'd believed they'd hit it off and the thought of never seeing her again because of one conversation, was just unacceptable to Emma.

It was nearly a week and a half later and Emma had lost pretty much all hope. She'd gone against her better judgement and called Regina again.

And again.

After that though, she had forced herself to stop. She realized she was about to look like an obsessive creep if she called again without answer. Regina clearly was not interested and Emma just had to face it.

It didn't help her mood, though. She was still frustrated and bitter that she'd ruined her only chance with first person she'd found herself genuinely interested in and she was beginning to feel the same about Regina.

It wasn't fair to lead someone on and then just change your mind without a word. Emma at least deserved an answer, or so she felt and just getting nothing but silence from the other woman had been bugging Emma nearly non stop. She was starting to feel more and more worked up over the entire situation because no matter what she did, she couldn't stop thinking about Regina. No one had ever had such an effect on her.

She tried to participate in the conversation going on, but she was too caught up. She nodded to the others when her name was used, but she wasn't truly listening. She didn't care what they were talking about then and felt irritated when they pulled her in anyway.

She was thankfully spared for the moment when the tones sounded and they were all forced to drop the conversation. Then the second the dispatch stated it was a fully involved structure fire, all of Emma's feelings were forgotten as well.

* * *

Emma felt the strain in her arms, all the way up towards her shoulders and down her back. Even her hands were cramping slightly and she kept having to readjust her grip.

She had been sitting in the driveway, holding the two and a half inch hose for over a half an hour now and she knew she was going to be feeling it for a few days. She wanted some relief, but everyone was running around, doing their own jobs and she knew this was her role right now. It wasn't a bad job, but for the fact that her muscles were tiring and all this sitting was letting her thoughts wander to things she should not be concentrating on at that moment.

She was staring at the flames still bursting from windows and smoke still billowing up into the air, and still managed to see Regina's face. She felt the physical heat of the fire and remembered the way she'd felt at the other woman's touch.

Lost in her distraction, Emma flinched when glass busted from a second story. She immediately started mentally berating herself as she flexed her muscles and lifted the hose to spray into the now opened window. This couldn't happen, she told herself. She needed to remember that this was at work and this is what her attention had to be focused on.

It took another fifteen minutes before most of the exterior was out and the smoke turned a light shade of grey. Emma was more than happy to finally let her hose down and stretch her body for a moment. Unfortunately, they only got a short break before they were called to go inside and take care of any interior fire.

They passed by one of the other crews who'd just placed some fans to help move smoke from the house, before they made their way inside. They could hear Jefferson and his officer, Lieutenant Nolan, up on the roof already cutting more ventilation holes. Emma was glad they wouldn't have to be moving blind for long.

Robin had the nozzle and headed in first, followed by Emma and August who helped carry the line through the house. They still couldn't see anything yet, so they moved slow, stopping once for only a moment when they encountered a room with a small patch of fire.

They continued on, looking for the stairs to the basement. They knew the fire originated there and there was a good chance there was still flames to extinguish.

As they made their way through the house, the floor became far softer than any of them were comfortable with. But then they were there to do a job. To take out every last bit of the fire. So with caution and courage, they continued on.

* * *

"Momma?"

Regina turned around as Henry ran into the room, excitedly. She gave a slight smile, accompanied with a sigh, as she saw him wearing his favorite shirt. He wore the overgrown fire department apparel, sporting the Engine 25 logo, nearly every day and would complain anytime Regina insisted she wash it.

"Yes, sweetheart?" She picked up the boy and held him securely on her hip as she turned back to stir the soup atop her stove.

"Can we go see Emma tomorrow?" He asked the same question he had yesterday, and the day before and Regina felt a pang of guilt as she did every time Emma's name was mentioned or she saw her son in her uniform.

"I don't think so, honey. Emma isn't working tomorrow." As much as she'd tried to put the woman out of her mind, Regina had been thinking of Emma nearly constantly. She knew exactly when the firefighter was working and when she wasn't and spent more time that she'd like to admit, wondering what she was doing on those off days.

"Well on her next day, then?" He pushed and Regina knew she couldn't keep making excuses. He was far smarter than most his age and she couldn't just ignore this until it went away.

"We'll see. How about you go watch some TV?" She didn't allow much television, but if it could distract her son from bringing up Emma for a few minutes, then maybe it would be worth it.

She carried him to the living room and set him up on the couch. Henry loved getting to watch the television whenever he got the chance, so he wasn't about to complain when the screen lit up and Spongebob appeared.

Satisfied, Regina left her son to his enjoyment and continued cooking their dinner.

As she moved about the kitchen, Regina could hear the sounds on the TV constantly changing. Henry loved playing with the remote, so she generally kept it out of reach, but then she had strict parental controls on and in that moment, she just couldn't be bothered to care if he was surfing the channels.

She was still working when the doorbell rang, signalling an expected guest and she left the pots and pans to answer.

"Regina." The blonde newcomer smiled and Regina tirely returned it.

"Kathryn, it's good to see you. Come in."

The two passed by the three year old, settled on an episode of Adventure Time now, before continuing into the kitchen. Kathryn was a lifelong friend of Regina, so the other woman easily started moving about the room to help her without bothering to stop and ask for anything.

"It's been too long, Regina." Kathryn passed by Regina to grab two wine glasses from the cabinet.

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just been busier recently."

"So what have you been up to?" She poured a generous amount into each glass, gaining a look from Regina. But then the brunette didn't complain.

"Just work as usual." She commented lightly as she busied herself, finishing up the last touches on their meal.

"What are you hiding?" She watched as Regina pretended to be confused. "Don't even, Regina. I know you." Kathryn was one of the most soft spoken people Regina knew. Always so polite and sweet. But then they had grown up together, best friends since they were in elementary school, and Kathryn never had a problem speaking up to the other woman.

Regina shook her head lightly. She couldn't claim to be surprised.

"Let's eat."

She paused the conversation long enough to get them into the dining room, but when Kathryn simply sat and waited for the other woman to continue, Regina knew she wasn't getting out of it.

"I'm not hiding anything, but I probably haven't mentioned that I went on a date a few weeks ago. Other than that, though, everything is as usual. How about yourself?" She tried to quickly glide through the conversation, but she saw her friend's excitement and rolled her eyes. "Kathryn-"

"Regina, that's huge. I'm so proud of you. I mean, how long now has it been-"

"I know, please…" Regina caught Kathryn's eyes and the blonde immediately closed her mouth. "I know how long it's been, but clearly, it wasn't long enough."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Kathryn frowned. "It didn't go well?"

"Actually, it went quite well." Regina replied and took a long sip from her drink. Kathryn waited for more, but Regina remained silent.

"Bad kisser?" She asked and got a distracted shake of the head as Regina's eyes momentarily glazed over. Kathryn smiled. "Okay, well...did he wear brown shoes with black pants?"

Regina actually let out a small laugh at that.

"No, _her_ footwear was appropriate." Regina looked up to see Kathryn's reaction. She expected the surprise showing in her features.

"Wow, I thought that was just a college phase." She said, but then smiled and Regina could tell Kathryn wasn't going to give her a hard time. "So then what's wrong?"

Regina sat back and remained silent for a moment. Kathryn knew not to pester her and took a moment to take small, careful bites of her dinner.

"It's been nearly five years, and the very first person I have an actual connection with...is a firefighter." She paused and saw Kathryn's eyebrows rise slightly.

"I see. How did that even come about?"

"She...Emma was at Henry's school a few weeks ago and he just took to her and all the fire stuff instantly. She offered to let us come to her station and I found myself enjoying her company. She asked and I just — I said yes. I guess she caught me off guard and I just reacted impulsively. To top it all off, that fire at my old apartment..." she paused as Kathryn nodded her acknowledgement, "she was there. I talked to her, myself."

"Regina, that's...well I don't know. I mean I understand why her being a firefighter would bother you, but if you like her, if you enjoyed yourself, then I still don't see what the problem is."

"Kathryn, I walked myself right back into the same situation I was in with Daniel."

"It isn't the same. This Emma of yours is a firefighter, she isn't a cop and what happened to Daniel won't happen to her."

"How can you know that? Daniel wasn't killed by gunfire in some situation unique to his job. It was an accident, but it happened because every element of his job was dangerous. Just like Emma's. For God's sake, she showed up on our first date with a huge bruise after her arm was almost crushed. She wasn't even in a fire, she was just working with dangerous equipment and someone wasn't paying attention. On any day at any point, someone could make one wrong step and another innocent life is lost for no reason."

Kathryn listened while Regina got increasingly worked up. She knew Daniel was, and always would be, a sensitive subject. The woman spent years mourning the loss of the man she loved and the fiance she lost. It took five years for her to even go on a real date, not just a fling or one night stand to sate some need, and Regina ends up with another public servant who risks their life on a daily basis.

She wasn't surprised Regina was feeling this way.

"I don't know what I was thinking, but I realized what I was walking into and stopped. It's over. I just need to get her out of my mind and move on."

"Interesting that she's still taking up so many of your thoughts when you only had the one date." She commented carefully, holding the silence when Regina's eyes cut to hers.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Regina went back to her meal and was clearly hoping the conversation could end there. She should have known it wouldn't.

"Yes you do. You don't waste your attention, Regina. You don't waste your energy on anything that doesn't mean something important to you. You don't get distracted and I've never known you show actual care towards anyone but your son, myself or Daniel-"

"I went on one date with Emma, do not compare my feelings for her to any of you."

"And I can't remember the last time you were so sensitive-"

"I am not sensitive." Regina cut her off again and Kathryn could feel her agitation across the table.

"Of course not." She deadpanned and got a cold stare in response. Kathryn was maybe the only person in the world at this point, that could get away with talking to Regina like that. "Regina…" She started a little softer, "you liked her. I know you did because like it or not, I know you. You obviously felt something and it scared you because you realized that you could get hurt again."

"Kathryn, you are making some rather large assumptions."

"Am I?" Blue eyes held Regina's stare without blinking once. She saw Regina's jaw clench and release before the woman let out a long sigh.

"We went on one date. It probably didn't mean anything."

"But what if it did?"

* * *

Regina placed her empty glass down and regarded her friend. They'd lightened the conversation through the rest of the meal, but then Henry's firefighting obsession came up again, which brought up thoughts of Emma again.

"I don't know what to do." Regina stated and Kathryn gave her a smile.

"I think you need to really think through how she makes you feel. You may have only met her, but she's had an effect on you. You need to decide if it's worth it to you to take a chance and act."

Regina considered her friends words, but before she could answer, her son called from the living room.

"Momma!"

"Coming, sweetheart." Regina called back, looking at her watch as she stood from the table. She thought he'd fallen asleep."What is it?" She walked into the room, followed by Kathryn.

"He's watching the news?" The blonde asked with a laugh.

"Momma, look!" Henry insisted and Regina moved her eyes to the television screen and listened to the newscaster broadcasting their newest story.

" _Members of the Boston Fire Department were rushed to the Mass General following a floor collapse on Washington Street this afternoon. Names have not yet been released, but Chief Clark stated three firefighters from Engine 25 were retrieved by an emergency rescue team after falling through the first floor directly into a basement fire. There is no word on their condition at this time. We'll keep you updated as the…  
_  
Regina didn't hear anything else that was said. If she wondered if Emma truly had meant anything to her or not, the moment the words hit her ears and she felt her stomach drop and her heart start to pound inside her ribcage, she probably had a good guess as to the answer.

* * *

 **Just for your general information, as far as general attack hoses go, departments generally carry an inch and three quarter line and a two and a half line. They reflect the size of each hose, so the two and a half is larger. Larger hoses hold more water and more water makes them heavier. I had to hold a two and a half for nearly an hour once and it was certainly a struggle.**


	8. Chapter 8

When Emma was six, she broke her leg. It was late at night one evening, when she fell from a second story window onto the cold and hard ground beneath.

The story of how it happened was certainly one of the more depressing ones in Emma's life. One of the tales of her foster care growing up, that showed just how sad the life of a child left behind could be.

Emma had been with one particularly nasty set of foster parents for just over three months at that time. Not all the places she stayed at were as bad as television and movies like to say, but in that house, Emma felt like she was living one of those over dramatized depictions of a life of constant pain and sadness.

Like many of those fictional stories, her foster father was a near raging alcoholic. He didn't come home every night, breaking things and screeching at the children of the house, but he did drink on a daily basis and some nights were significantly worse than others.

Her foster mother in that house, also fit some of the common stereotypes. She forced Emma and the other kids to do chores from the moment they came home from school until dinner, and then again until bed. It was the first home that had such a demand of Emma and at six years old, she didn't understand why she was being made to work so much and why she wasn't allowed to stop. It didn't take her long though, to learn that when she did stop without permission, she could forget about dinner that night and maybe even the next.

What wasn't normal in this instance, was that this particular family and this particular house always looked so pristine. They didn't look like lazy slobs living in lower funded area of town. The father was a businessman that hid his disease with perfection and his wife, a stay at home mother looking ready for a move to Stepford. The house was larger and in a far better neighborhood than Emma had ever seen, or would see again for some time. It didn't fit the general mold of a crappy foster home and for that reason, no one else saw it that way.

Emma knew her social worker saw the bruises when she came to check in after her first week with the new family. Her foster father had wobbled in on her fourth night there and just mindlessly shoved her out of the way. He hadn't been angry or specifically out to get her, but she was in the way one second, and down on the floor cradling her arm the next.

Emma knew the woman saw the spot where her arm impacted the kitchen table with enough force to still be seen days later. But as they sipped coffee and her sickly sweet foster mother told her she'd done it while roughhousing with another child, the woman there to ensure Emma's well being, simply took her foster mother at her word and no one cared to question any danger in the immaculate mansion.

After a few months there, and several more supposed "roughhousing" incidents, Emma almost had it. She was down on her hands and knees one night, trying to clean a spot on the floor her foster mother claimed could be removed and stated Emma wouldn't stop until it was. She was there for well over an hour before she heard the front door to the house open and a very unsteady man walk in.

She tried to keep her head down. If he didn't see her, she had a far better shot at being left uncathed. Of course it wouldn't be that easy though, because in only seconds, her name was yelled out and the small girl jumped in response.

She knew the second she looked into his eyes, that this wouldn't be like the other times. Generally, he was just such a clumsy and pissed off drunk, that he just wanted to charge around and break stuff for a few minutes before passing out somewhere. Tonight was different though, and Emma knew it.

She looked up when he walked in and tried not to show the fear rising within her. She didn't understand. He wasn't ever this focused. But now he was and he was focused on Emma.

She stood up when he made it to her, but she wasn't on her feet for more than a second. She was shoved backwards and knew there'd be another bruise when her spine impacted the granite countertop.

She had wanted to cry out and call for help, but she knew it wouldn't come. No one was there for her in that house — or even in her life, for that matter.

When her foster father had grabbed her arms and swung her back to the ground, she had become truly frightened. He loomed over her and she could hardly think straight at that point.

She tried to get up and run, but he caught her in time and she finally let out a scream when he started dragging her up their stairs. She didn't know what was happening, but she knew she was in danger. She'd never been so scared in her life and all she knew was that she had to get away. It was when he fumbled with the door to his home office, that she was able to make a move. He was too intoxicated to concentrate enough and Emma managed to use his momentary distraction to turn and run.

In a moment that fit with the movie drama feel of her life at that time, the man had gone after Emma. She tore down the hall like her life depended on it because at the time, she was sure it did. But then he made it to her and he grabbed part of her hair before the blonde managed to slip from his grip.

She'd had nowhere to run but into the next bedroom, that was her own. She didn't even think before running straight to the window and shoving it up as fast as she could. When she saw the man with nothing but evil in his eyes coming right for her, Emma knew she had to get away to survive and so she did the only thing she could.

She jumped.

The fall had caused her more pain than she'd ever experienced in her six years of life. She'd never forget the sound of a crack before the agony came and her body felt like it was on fire. She screamed without thought, but the sound saved her.

The neighbors had come running and 911 was called and that was the night that ended that particular misery. But it also changed things for Emma.

From that point going forward, Emma started to run. From pain, from danger, from anything. She ran from foster homes, from foster parents, from school and from anything that could hurt her. She learned that that was the key to survival.

Running away.

It wasn't for many years, that Emma went from being the girl that ran from any and every kind of danger, to being the woman that charged straight in, head held high with fire in her eyes.

* * *

"What the hell is the problem up there?" Robin asked from the head of their line. They heard the chainsaws running on the roof, but house was still overwhelmed with smoke. It should have been ventilating out by then.

"I don't know, but we need to get out of this hall." August called up and Emma nodded her agreement. They were sounding the floor as they walked and it felt far too soft. "Let's turn back."

Emma hated the idea of backing out of the house without doing their job. She didn't want to run out of the house because it was a little too dangerous for her, she wanted to face the flames and destroy them as she was meant to.

When they started to move backwards down the hall, using the hose as a guide, August suddenly yelled for them to stop.

"It's too weak! Move forward, now!"

They immediately obeyed and started going ahead again. They looked for another way out, but they still had no visibility. Their only way was to feel ahead of them and stay down on their hands and knees.

Emma heard Captain Stevens' voice on the radio, asking for an update. August reported that the house was unstable and they were looking for a way out, before the team came up to the turn in the hallway.

Robin lead them around the turn, but Emma felt the danger too late. She could instantly feel the heat increase under her hands and knees, but it was just a split second before the floor completely gave out.

Unlike the dreams that make you feel like you're falling for an eternity, Emma barely registered being in the air before she hit the ground. Her breath was forced aggressively from her lungs when she landed partially on Robin, and she quickly rolled to get off of him.

Before she could take in the state of the other men, bright orange entered her vision and Emma forced herself to shake out of it.

The flames were off towards the side of the basement, but the room wasn't big. Emma knew they were in serious danger.

"Are you hurt?!"

Emma turned towards her officer as August got up on his knees.

"I'm okay!" Emma yelled back, trying to quickly assess herself. She felt out of breath and like she'd been knocked around a bit, but other than that, she didn't feel injured in any serious way.

"Locksley!" August grabbed the other firefighter who was still laying on the ground. Emma turned more fully towards him and felt her heart rate immediately start to pound harder. "Robin!"

Robin finally shifted slightly and Emma felt a wash of relief. Right up until he let out a pained groan and Emma realized this was going to be harder than any of them wanted.

Before another word was spoken, August grabbed his radio and issued a mayday. He knew they needed help as soon as possible. They'd come in with full tanks, but they'd been inside for awhile now and air only lasted so long. That, plus Robin's injury and then the heat getting harder and harder to bare, there was no time to waste.

"Alright buddy, what is it?" August leaned over Robin.

"My hip." He said through gritted teeth. "I landed on it."

"Alright, we're going to help you." He reassured and moved behind him.

Emma started moving to help August, when she heard glass bursting from a window. She saw a streak of light come through the wall opposite the flames and realized their rescue was here.

"There!" She yelled and the other's turned towards where she pointed.

"Alright, let's move! Swan, over here."

Emma moved behind Robin, next to August. She wrapped her gloved hand under the strap of the fallen firefighter's pack and waited until August had the other side.

Together, they started shifting backwards and dragging Robin with them. Emma instantly felt the weight of the man and tried not to psych herself out. Dragging a real life human being was far harder than it seemed, but then they trained for this. Emma hadn't been dragging a two hundred pound dummy around the bay for years for nothing.

With all her strength, Emma pulled. Her moves were synchronized with August's and they managed to make their way across the small room quickly.

When the got to the window, Emma could make out a few silhouettes above them. But then all the relief she had been building as they neared help, started waning as she saw how high up the small opening was.

The crew waiting outside yelled down towards them, but Emma had a hard time understanding what they'd said. It didn't matter much though, because before she could wonder if it was important, she saw them lowering something down towards them and quickly realized it was a folded attic ladder.

They didn't waste any time. Emma grabbed the ladder right away and opened it, before adjusting it to set up into the window. August helped Robin to face the wall and then Emma assisted in getting the injured man into place.

The movements were anything but graceful. Emma and August tried to help stabilize Robin as he tried to stand on one leg and get onto the bottom rung of the ladder.

With a small hop, he got into place and Emma started to relax a bit. The basement was so burnt up already, the fire remaining hadn't spread much more.

She and August got on either side of Robin and stood up. They supported him and tried to help push him when he went to move again. The motions were sloppy though, as to be expected in so much gear. When Robin tried to hop up to the next rung, he slipped and his body fell towards Emma.

August clung to his coat and Emma shoved from her side, but as he'd fallen, his arms had thrashed out and Robin's elbow connected with the front of her helmet with enough force that it was shoved from her head, along with her mask.

The facepiece couldn't fall off due to it's straps, but it was pushed down hard and Emma shook her head as the top fell down over her eyes.

The moment she breathed in smoke, she knew it was too far gone to easily be adjusted, so she didn't even bother. They were almost out and she couldn't let go of Robin to try and fix her own gear.

The movements were still messy, but that couldn't be helped. They shoved up on Robin until arms stretched in from the open window. As men from the outside started pulling him up, the ones inside just had to help a few more seconds before their crew member was outside of the house and safe.

The moment he disappeared from sight, August turned towards Emma. She could see enough in the glow to note the confusion when he saw her uncovered face. The mask had fallen the rest of the way down, but Emma had been unable to stop it.

Now though, she could feel the burning in her lungs and the exhaustion from being inside so long and working so hard was making her feel weak, fast.

"Let's go!" August grabbed her by the coat and pushed her towards the ladder.

She took one step before letting too much of the heated smoke into her lungs and she coughed, hard. She felt his hands pushing her up and Emma knew passing out would be the absolute worse thing she could do in that moment. She mustered the last bit of strength she had, and just focused on lifting herself up the ladder.

The smoke cleared quickly then. Hands appeared and pulled her up from above and Emma was quickly brought up and outside the house.

The cool air washed over her heated skin and she wasn't sure anything had ever felt so nice. She started coughing again though, and her muscles started feeling shaky as she tried to take steps away from the burning house.

"We got you, we got you."

Medics appeared by her side and Emma wanted to roll her eyes. She wasn't the one who needed help. But then when she looked up and around, she saw Robin already being moved into an ambulance on a stretcher. She turned back and looked to see August being helped out of the house and let herself finally relax.

"Emma, take a seat."

She looked back and really did roll her eyes now.

"I'm fine." She immediately objected, but her captain wasn't having it.

"Sit. The medics will take care of you."

"But—"

"Swan, this isn't a discussion. You look like death, you sound like it too. You're going to the ER. All of you are."

Emma got a very small amount of satisfaction when she saw August look equally as frustrated. No one liked getting sent to the hospital and Emma was more than a little irritated, knowing she was going to get a bad reputation for ending up there twice in a month.

"We'll take care of everything else, but please, just go." Captain Stevens gave them a look that made it impossible to argue with. All he had to do was give the order, and they couldn't say another word. But it was the fact that he looked genuinely concerned that had them cooperating without another complaint.

Emma couldn't stop herself from coughing again anyway, and that garnered her all the attention from the medics she was trying to avoid.

* * *

"You do look like death."

Emma glared at her lieutenant when he walked into her hospital room, but that didn't stop him from continuing.

"Seriously, have you seen a mirror?"

"Okay now you're just being rude." She replied lightheartedly and he grinned before stepping into the room.

"What the hell happened with your mask, anyway? I know you didn't lose it in the fall."

"No, it was when Locksley slipped on the ladder. It got knocked off." She answered and played with the frayed ends of the cheap hospital blanket.

"Oh, got it. Well how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Seriously, I feel completely fine. I just want to go back." She had only been there an hour and was already bored out of her mind. She was watching the news and wanted to throw something at the TV when she heard how dramatic they made the whole incident sound. "How's Robin, though?"

"He just got done with the MRI, but they think he fractured his femur."

"Oh man." Emma squinted as she thought about the amount of pain.

"Yeah, but I think he's gotten like a few hundred of Fentanyl though, so he's feeling much better." August joked and Emma allowed a small smile.

"So do we get to leave now?" She asked anxiously.

"I do." August grinned as Emma's smile instantly disappeared. "You, on the other hand, are staying the night. Apparently you inhaled a little more smoke than they feel comfortable with, so they want to make sure your sats stay up. Sorry, pal." He finished with no sincerity.

"Yeah, okay." She felt more than a little frustrated now and sat back in her bed. She felt ridiculous sitting there, and it didn't help that she skin was practically black from being uncovered in the smoke for those few moments and she needed a shower more than pretty much anything in that moment.

August left after another moment and Emma tried to make herself just get over it and relax. The one thing that at least made things easier, is that now she could just completely relax. She knew she wasn't going home, so she could stop pacing the room and waiting to be told she was discharged.

Deciding to just make peace with her situation, Emma made herself more comfortable in the bed. She grabbed the oxygen mask she'd thrown off herself earlier in a futile attempt at pretending to be fine by not needing it, and decided to actually wear it for a bit. If she was being honest, she had felt like she'd just smoked about thirty packs in a row and some O2 was more appealing than she wanted to admit.

Laying back, Emma finally felt the exhaustion of the day. Her muscles were completely fatigued at this point and the second she completely laid out, they just sunk into the mattress. She didn't even consciously close her eyes, but before she knew it, she felt the draw of sleep and the world just slipped away.

* * *

Emma didn't move when she woke up. She felt the unfamiliar bedding beneath her and the air blowing on her face and it took a moment to remember everything that had happened. She did though, and the reality that she was lying in a hospital bed, again, made her irritation come back in full force.

She liked to think that injuries were not that common because everyone was generally so safe, but being that she was here for the second time in such a short span, made her at least understand why some thought their jobs were too much for them to handle.

That thought made her even more annoyed though, because it reminded her of the one that already decided it was too much for her. The woman that wouldn't even give it a chance before walking away.

Emma couldn't even blame her, though. If she was being honest, at this point, she understood her.

Or so she thought.

Because the second she finally opened her eyes and turned to see Regina Mills sitting right next to her bed, all Emma knew was that she didn't really know anything.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Her eyes stayed on the screen, but her gaze was completely glazed over. Her mind was repeating the words the newscaster had reported and she couldn't help but to conjure images of Emma's lifeless body being carried out of a burning house.

"Regina?" Kathryn was at her side, shaking the brunette's shoulders in attempt at gaining her attention.

The woman slowly shook herself out of it and regarded her lifetime friend.

"Tell me that wasn't her." Kathryn started, disbelievingly. But all it took was the shocked, and now growing fear in her friends features to know the answer. "Oh Regina..."

"I have to go."

Without any warning, Regina just seemed to snap out of it and leaned down to pick up Henry. She moved with purpose towards the hallway to to Henry's room.

"Wait, what do you mean? Regina?" Kathryn followed closely behind and watched when Regina grabbed a bag for Henry. "Regina, if you want to go, that's fine, but leave Henry here. I'll watch him for you. "

Regina looked up then and Kathryn was reassured she stopped to actually consider her words.

"It's passed his bedtime, right?"

"Nooooo." Henry objected and Regina couldn't help the smallest smile towards her son, before nodding at the blonde.

"Okay, then let me take care of him here and you go." She held Regina's eyes and waited until the other woman finally nodded.

"Thank you, Kathryn." She spoke genuinely and Kathryn grabbed her arm and squeezed affectionately.

"Everything will be okay."

She decided not to comment on the obvious feelings Regina must have to react so strongly about news of Emma. Instead, she just took Henry from Regina's arms and let her know he and Regina herself would be okay. That's what she was really here for.

Regina had snapped at the driver nearly a dozen times before they reached the hospital. She was anxious and worried and he seemed not to be able to care less that she was in a hurry. But by the time they made it to the hospital, she thought he may be quitting his job from her, alone. She really didn't care, though.

Marching inside the hospital, no one seemed willing to approach the woman. She walked with her head up and a level of determination in her eyes that could intimidate probably anyone.

She went right to the registration desk in the emergency room and slapped her hands onto the surface louder than she had truly intended.

"I'm looking for Emma Swan." She spoke curtly and the stare she aimed towards the receptionist looked as if it was physically making the other woman uncomfortable.

Regina meanwhile, was trying to disguise her own feelings. She had no idea what had happened to Emma — if she was already back to work without injury, or lying on an operating table seconds from death. She had no clue and felt more anxious in that moment than she had been in years.

"Are you— are you a family member?" the young employee asked, timidly.

"She's my..." She started and then paused as she caught herself. Shaking her head, Regina made up her mind quickly and cleared her throat. "She's my partner." The word sounded awkward to her, but she really didn't care. Especially when the hospital worker nodded and started looking on her computer screen. She knew it would work though — they wouldn't argue if they thought they were together.

"She's in acute care, bed eight."

Regina quickly got her visitor's pass and followed the directions specified by the receptionist towards Emma's room. It wasn't until she saw the correct numerical and stepped right into the doorway, that the tunnel vision finally went away and Regina finally fully understood where she was and what she was doing.

Frozen in the doorway, Regina could only see the closed curtain around a hospital bed. She knew Emma was right there and she could reassure herself of Emma's state if she just looked, but her feet just wouldn't move.

She didn't know what she was supposed to do or say and it suddenly hit her that Emma could think she was crazy for just showing up out of nowhere. They hadn't talked since their date, and while Regina knew Emma had tried contacting her repeatedly, she'd purposefully ignored her and now here she was, just standing inside her room with no warning.

It looked kind of crazy, she realized.

She took a small step back as she contemplated a quick exit, before her shoulder was impacted by another.

"Excuse me." A gruffer voice startled Regina as a petite woman scooted quickly into the room

Regina didn't even have time to process being bumped into by the rushing nurse, before the woman just ripped the curtain back, wide open.

Regina's eyes found the sleeping form right away and glued to the patient there, instantly.

Emma could have been in far worse shape, and Regina knew that, but seeing the soot covered skin and hearing the oxygen flowing into her body, just rattled her more than she would have thought possible for having only just met this woman. No one ever had just an instantaneous and intense effect on her, other than her only child. Certainly never anyone she dated on a spontaneous whim one night.

The nurse buzzed around the room in a well practiced manner that showed of her years in her field. Regina hardly even noticed, though, and the other woman was too focused on her job checking over her patient to bother with the newcomer, either.

Quickly, the caretaker was done and zipping out of the room onto her next patient. Regina was left alone with the quiet blonde and she had no idea what to do.

Part of her still wanted to bolt. She didn't want Emma waking up to find her there and believing it was as weird as Regina was fearing. But then another part of her wanted to reach forward and grab the blonde's hand and reassure herself that everything was okay and she's worried for nothing.

Without really thinking it through, Regina took a small step forward.

Then another.

She felt pulled towards the bed and couldn't take her eyes off Emma as she got closer and closer.

When she finally reached the edge of the mattress and was able to look down at Emma, she simply paused to check the younger woman up and down. Her first instinct was to say that she looked like she'd been run over by a train, but then realistically, Regina could see she didn't have any broken bones or huge gashes. There was nothing that looked truly alarming, but still, seeing her look as if she's just walked straight out of the flames, was startling.

Regina lifted a hand, slowly, towards the firefighter. She touched a few locks of hair that fell over Emma's face, and gently pulled them back and curled them behind her ear. She felt like her own motions were out of character, but there was something about Emma that made it feel natural.

Despite her state, Emma looked calm and peaceful in her sleep. Regina didn't want to wake her, but curiously, she couldn't leave either. She still believed that maybe she needed to, but the thought of stepping away and leaving her behind, unsettled the brunette — enough that instead of following the rational part of her brain that told her to leave, she instead pulled up a chair from the edge of the room and sat herself right next to the inexplicably alluring firefighter.

* * *

Emma didn't move when she woke up. She felt the unfamiliar bedding beneath her and the air blowing on her face and it took a moment to remember everything that had happened.

Annoyance and frustration took over and Emma kept her eyes closed for another minute as she thought over the ridiculousness of ending up in the hospital _again_. But then that led to the understanding of everyone's fears about their safety and then to the woman who obviously thought of hers.

She took her time before finally parting the lids of her eyes just enough to let a stream of light in. She felt like it had only been a few hours, if that. Exhaustion still overwhelmed her muscles and Emma felt no motivation to move, whatsoever. It took another few seconds before she finally just opened her eyes.

And then she saw her.

"Regina?" Emma shook her head, wondering if she was still asleep and only dreaming.

The other woman just sat there and stared back and Emma seriously began believing this wasn't even real. But then she leaned up and felt a pained strain in her muscles and realized that nope, this was definitely not a dream.

"Regina?" She tried again and forced herself to sit up, despite the protest in her stiff body. She pulled off the oxygen mask and continued. "Are you okay?"

There was an irony in Emma being the one to ask that question.

Regina finally seemed to wake up and looked away for a second. Emma could see conflict in her features and her curiosity was growing by the second.

"I'm sorry." Regina started. "Are...are you okay?" She asked and Emma could see she was uncomfortable.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"You're in a hospital, you're not _fine_." There was a bit of a bite to Regina's tone, that had Emma's eyebrow raising. "I'm— I just mean, clearly, something happened."

The awkwardness was palpable and Emma found that just slightly amusing. Though she was still very confused and that was what got her to focus and try to understand what was going on.

"Yeah, we had a little accident. Robin got hurt, but he'll be okay after a few weeks in a cast and August and I are fine. I just breathed in a little smoke, so they're making me stay the night — that's it." She watched as Regina nodded slowly, before suddenly standing.

"Well alright then. That's good to hear, I suppose. I'll let you get your rest." Regina turned away and made for the door, causing Emma to shake her head and stand from the bed.

"Wait, where are you going?" She asked and Regina turned back.

"It's getting late and I need to be up with Henry in the morning."

"Where have I heard that before?" Emma asked sarcastically and saw an immediate effect on Regina.

The brunette stopped and stared at Emma for a second, surprised at the tone in her voice. She shouldn't have been, though. Emma had every right to a little annoyance.

After a calming breath, Regina turned back towards the room and stepped more fully inside again.

"Emma—"

"What are you doing here?" Emma just asked, bluntly. She was tired and confused and while seeing Regina was something she'd wanted ever since she met the woman, she didn't like feeling jerked around.

"I saw you on the news." Regina started and looked away. "I saw the news about you and the others. They said you were all rushed to the emergency room, and I...I just felt the need to come see if you were okay." Regina admitted, speaking slowly and softly.

Emma didn't really know how to respond. Regina had cut her out for weeks, leaving her frustrated and feeling rejected and confused. But then the second she found out Emma could be hurt, she came running to her side. Emma had no clue what to take from that.

"Well…" Emma started slowly, trying to think of something to say. "The news really over dramatizes everything. Someone will twist their ankle and they'll report that a firefighter 'suffered injuries' at a call. They like to make it way more than it is." She tried to reassure the other woman. Despite her confusion, the thought that Regina had come to her because of what they reported, made her feel something she didn't really understand.

"I see. So, what _did_ happen?" She asked and moved back to the chair she'd left.

"Well, we got sent to this house fire earlier…"

Emma recounted how the call had gone down and how they ended up inside the house. She told Regina about realizing the floors weren't safe anymore, but how they couldn't get out by then. She told her about falling through the floor, but how it wasn't a long drop and that Robin only got injured because of the way he fell.

She told her all about how they helped him out and how her mask got pushed off before she climbed out herself and got carted off the ER a moment later.

She tried to downplay it enough to not sound like a near fatal experience, as she was sure the reporters were doing as they spoke. She could tell though, that Regina could tell it was still very dangerous and Emma didn't know where they were going to go from there.

She waited a moment or two after finishing the story and didn't speak. Regina was absorbing everything, she could tell, and wanted to give her that time. But then Emma couldn't handle it much longer and finally had to say something.

"I called you."

Regina looked up and Emma saw guilt in her expression.

"I know." She spoke quietly.

"You never answered."

"I know." Again, Regina responded quietly and Emma couldn't take the silence that filled the room, following it.

"Why?" She asked and held Regina's gaze. She wanted Regina to talk to her, to explain why she shut the door in her face and then came running for her later. She didn't understand where they were and she needed Regina to speak to her.

Regina sighed and looked away again. Emma could see that she was trying to figure some things out, herself.

"I can't do this, again." Regina looked back to Emma.

"Do what?"

" _This_ — this _thing_." She waved between them.

"Us? Dating?" Emma asked, confused.

"Yes, all of it."

"Regina—"

"I've done this before. I was with someone who was exposed to danger everyday and I convinced myself he would be safe, but—" she stopped herself suddenly and cleared her throat. "But like you, he couldn't escape everything unscathed and one day...one day he didn't come home."

"Regina..." Emma started, frowning as she felt a sadness overcome her for the other woman.

"I can't do that, again."

Emma still held Regina's eyes as they sat across from one another. She understood now more than ever how Regina would have had a knee jerk reaction to bolt at the first sign of trouble. But then Emma still held onto one small thing...

"But you came here."

Regina looked away.

"Henry saw the report on the news—"

"You came here. You came all the way to the hospital. You could have just called. You could have waited for the news to update you. But you came all the way to the hospital because you were worried about me."

"Fine, I was concerned for your wellbeing. But that doesn't mean—"

"That you care about me? Sure as hell does." Emma replied, straightening up and turning in her bed to face Regina more fully.

Regina opened and closed her mouth a few times. She looked frustrated but Emma was okay with that.

"So what?" Regina started with some of that bite again. "I'm not some emotionless, evil witch as many believe. I can care about another. But that doesn't mean—"

"That you want to be with me?" Emma cut her off again and she could see Regina's anger start to grow. "Sure as hell does." She finished with a small smirk forming.

"I didn't realize you'd be this irritating." She spoke as she stood from her chair again.

"And I didn't realize you'd be so scared." She stood as well and saw the clear offense in Regina's expression.

"I am not scared."

"And I'm not really a jerk, but at least now that you're pissed, you're not going to be so afraid."

"You're trying to make me angry?" Her eyes glared hard into Emma, but it took a lot to scare her. She didn't flinch.

"I want you to be honest."

"Honest? How's this for honest — the only person I've ever loved was a cop, killed at work one night with no warning. I'm sitting at home like some ignorant housewife waiting for him to come home and instead I get a squad car with his sheriff at my doorstep, telling me he'll never come home again. So yes, maybe I'm not so brave as to want to go through that again. Can you blame me?"

Her eyes were red now, but Emma still held them. She felt the emotion from within Regina raging through the space between them, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she shook her head, slowly.

"No. No can't blame you at all." She started and Regina seemed to relax the slightest. "Unless it means that you'll never take a chance again."

"You don't know what you're asking. You don't even know me, so I don't know why you're even so concerned."

Emma frowned, before her gaze relaxed again and she actually laughed, startling Regina.

"You're one to talk. You don't even know _me_ , but you still dropped everything and ran the second you heard I was hurt." She grinned and saw Regina's jaw clench. "Have you considered that maybe this all means something?"

"Please don't start talking about fate—"

"I'm just saying…" Emma stopped her and Regina managed to look a little more relaxed now. "...maybe you should consider that there's a lot to ignore if you just walk away."

Emma stood her ground and stayed in front of Regina. The brunette was clearly taking in Emma's words and considering them and Emma really didn't want to do or say anything to made her turn around and leave.

"Maybe." Regina spoke quietly, but it encouraged Emma.

Taking a chance, the blonde reached her hand forward in the space between them and gently grasped Regina's. Dark eyes that held longtime pain, looked into another pair with equal sorrow, but with so much hope and fire and determination.

Taking a long, steadying breath, Regina curled her fingers into Emma's and squeezed.

* * *

 **I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

Emma pulled her arm across her chest to try and stretch the aching muscle. She held it there for a good twenty seconds before switching and pulling the other arm to do the same.

She moved up as the line in front of her progressed and she tried to shake the fatigued muscles, as if she could somehow re-energize and strengthen them in the few seconds before it was her turn again. She was getting exhausted though, and wasn't sure there was anything she could do, but push forward.

It had been just over two weeks since the incident with her crew, and the department had decided it was time for some more intensive trainings. They'd already had several more basic safety meetings, but today they had to go over personal rescues. The training itself was quite good, in Emma's opinion, and she was enjoying the experience. But now they'd been in full gear for nearly three hours and in addition to feeling over heated and knowing her uniform was soaked through with sweat, they'd been basically working out now for the entire duration and there was only so many times that you could lift yourself and your sixty pounds of gear before your body just stopped working.

Emma felt as if she was nearing that point.

"Next."

Emma stepped up after Jefferson completed his turn. This time, she was supposed to use a hand tool as a step to reach their makeshift window, and then hoist herself up with her own strength and maneuver herself in all her gear and tank, through the small opening to the other side.

She tried to psych herself up as she stepped forward. Taking a deep breath and shaking out her arms again, she stepped up and planted her foot on the unsteady halligan.

In a quick, practiced move, Emma stepped up and threw her body as high as she could as she simultaneously reached for the window and started pulling herself up. When she had herself into the opening, she felt like her arms were going to give up. She moved fast, turning herself enough to be able to sit in the sill and take the weight from her arms. She twisted so that her tank on her back got into the opening and then finally was able to allow herself a calming breath. At that point, she was able to calmly lean back and maneuver the rest of her body through the window and onto the ladder behind.

After making it back to the floor, Emma moved slowly to the end of the line again. She barely got in place before the captain announced they were done for the day and could take their gear off. The relief she felt then, was immense.

As soon as they managed to get everything nearly cleaned up and the promise of hot shower became within reach, the tones above them sounded and Emma realized it was going to be a long day.

* * *

"This is Mr T's, isn't is?" August twisted around in his seat to ask Emma as they responded to a familiar address.

Emma narrowed her eyes as she thought.

"Yeah, but I mean since when is that old man doing heroin?"

They were all confused as the dispatch had told them they were responding to a drug overdose at one of their frequent fliers homes. The man generally complained of aches and pains or difficulties in his diabetes. He wasn't exactly a drug case.

They arrived on scene to the familiar home, but instead of just casually walking up to the apartment with the medic's stair chair, they took an extra second to grab the drug and airway bags and monitor before jogging up to the door.

A yell sounded from inside, asking them to get in their fast. They were lucky the door was already unlocked and the five of them rushed inside.

"Mr T? What's going on?" August addressed the panicking man who he could see was standing inside the doorway, down the hall.

"It's my daughter. I don't know what's wrong." The man was almost hyperventilating as they reached him and stepped into the bedroom.

"What's her name, sir?" August asked.

"Ariel. It's Ariel." He nearly started crying.

Billy, their temporary replacement for Robin, took the initiative and got the man out of the room so everyone else could work.

Emma followed the medics into the bedroom and immediately knelt down next to them to help. She'd never seen the young red head before. She knew Mr T had a few daughters, but they were all older and were spread across the country. This girl didn't look like a typical drug user. She was beautiful, didn't have any obvious track marks, no bruising or anything that Emma could see.

"Do we know what she took?" Archie, one of the seasoned paramedics, asked.

"Mr T said he didn't know." Emma answered as she helped check a pulse. "She's got a good radial." She said as she nodded to Archie.

"Alright, let's just give her two, nasally." He didn't need to clarify anything else. His partner, Sean, went ahead and grabbed the box marked, Narcan, from their airway bad and took a MAD device out as well.

In only seconds, the medication was ready to go and Sean went ahead and put the soft end into the woman's nose, compressing half of the drug into one nostril, then the rest into the other side.

It took almost no time at all before the patient's eyes started fluttering and she began making incoherent sounds.

"Ariel?" Archie spoke loudly above the woman. "Ariel, my name is Archie. We're with the fire department. Can you talk to me?"

"I'm— I..." She stuttered slightly and pressed her eyes closed.

"It's okay. Everything's okay. Can you tell us what you took?" He asked, not unkindly.

"I...I didn't take anything." As she regained her consciousness, the girl was finally speaking more coherently.

Everyone in the room rolled their eyes.

"Ariel, I'm going to explain something — we gave you a drug that's only job is to counteract other drugs. So the fact that you woke up when we gave it to you, already tells us without a doubt that you took something. Just tell us so we can help you." You could tell Archie had this conversation too many times in his career. He didn't feel like messing around much.

"I didn't take anything." Ariel sat up and refused to make eye contact with anyone.

Emma had been on quite a few calls with Archie and knew he didn't have a lot of patience with people who continued to lie to him after he saved their lives. Before he could say anything else, Emma stepped in. She generally had far better luck with young, female patients, than any of the guys.

"Hey..." She started, gaining the girl's attention. She could already see a difference when Ariel looked at her, versus Archie. "Look, we're not the cops. We're not going to get you in trouble. Honestly, we're only here to help, but it has to go both ways. We can help you— all you need to do is be open and honest with us. I promise the only people we're going to talk to, is the hospital staff, okay?" She waited and could just watch as the younger girl's resolve started to break.

"It was just one time." She started and Emma just nodded, politely. "I swear, I've never done the stuff before, but my friend gave it to me. She said it would calm me down." Ariel had tears in her eyes and Emma wondered if maybe she was actually telling the truth.

"Okay, it's okay. Heroin, right?" She asked and Ariel nodded slowly. "Okay, it's going to be okay. Do you think you could walk if I help you?"

"Yeah." Ariel nodded and took Emma's outstretched hand. She didn't fail to notice that she specifically ignored Archie's offered hand.

They all walked down to the ambulance parked outside, marked Boston EMS, and climbed up into the back. Emma helped Ariel sit on the cot and latched the seat belts into place.

"Alright, this is Sean, he's going to be back here with you, okay?"

"Wait, you're not coming?" Ariel looked panicked and Emma gave her a reassuring smile.

"No, I have to go back in the fire truck. But Sean's really cool, it'll be okay—"

"No, no I'm not going." Ariel immediately started pulling at the seatbelts and Emma shook her head.

"Whoa, hold on, just hold on."

"If you're not back here, I'm not staying with them."

Emma could see the resolution in her eyes and sighed. They had patients like this from time to time, so it wasn't too new to Emma.

She looked towards the back doors of the squad that were still open and made eye contact with August. Her lieutenant had overheard the worried patient and looked between the two of them. A few seconds later, he nodded.

"We'll meet you over there."

Satisfied, Ariel calmed down and sat back into the cot and Archie started driving.

Fully awake now, Ariel was quite conversational enroute to the hospital — but only to Emma. She completely ignored Sean, even as the young medic attempted to ask her questions and get a set of vitals for her. Emma ended up having to get her history and information herself and Sean took notes from the bench seat.

When they got the hospital, Emma helped Ariel from the squad and walked her into the ER. She'd been completely fine through the whole transport, so she threw Emma off when she suddenly said she was feeling faint.

"Are you alright?" Emma asked her as she immediately took Ariel's arm, gently. The last thing they needed was to walk a patient in who couldn't stay on her feet without passing out.

"Yeah, I just need your help." Ariel smiled at Emma and the firefighter nodded, letting the patient hold her hand while she placed her other on Ariel's back.

"Alright, we're almost there."

Emma walked Ariel to the nearest wheelchair, and helped her sit down into it. She didn't see the slightest hint of frustration in the young girl's expression.

Emma wheeled her through the hall behind Sean and waited as he got Ariel registered. Once they had a room, Emma took Ariel to the bed assigned to her and helped her move once again.

"You're not leaving, right?" Ariel all but pouted and surprised Emma when she reached out and grabbed her hand.

"You're going to be fine." Emma promised, trying to give her a comforting smile. "But I have to go back to work now."

"Please?" Ariel literally batted her eyelashes at Emma and the blonde finally clued in. Pulling her hand back slowly, Emma cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry. I have to leave though."

"Well..." Ariel started and smiled at Emma. "If you have to leave, you have to leave your number too."

She was confident, that was for sure. Emma's eyebrows lifted as she regarded the younger woman.

In a different scenario at a different time, Emma probably would have jumped at the offer. Ariel fit her type, aesthetically, at least. But then this was unprofessional and it would always be awkward that they met when Emma had helped revive her from a heroin overdose. She didn't want to say that though, but then she had another excuse.

"I'm actually in a relationship. But I'm really flattered that you asked." She answered politely, feeling a little guilty when Ariel looked embarrassed and stopped making eye contact.

"Well, thanks for your help." She gave a small smile and Emma nodded.

"Of course. Good luck, Ariel." Emma stepped out of the room then and made a quick exit. She practically ran straight into August as she made it outside.

"Whoa, you okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. That girl just asked me out though." She laughed as she shook her head.

"Really? What did you say?"

"I said no, of course." She said as if it was the most obvious answer.

"Why?" August's brow furrowed in confusion. "She was hot."

"Because I'm with someone." Again, she spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, okay."

Emma heard the sarcasm in his tone and narrowed her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She didn't want to be disrespectful towards her boss, but she was feeling defensive.

"You've been on one date with the woman." He pointed out and Emma frowned.

"That's because she's busy, but we've talked like every single day since the fire." Emma defended weakly.

"Exactly. All you've done is talked. I think you're allowed to shop around a bit in the meantime."

August turned and left then, heading back towards their truck. Emma followed behind, but she hung back a few steps, still frowning. It was no wonder August didn't have any lasting relationships with an attitude like that.

She was trying not to dwell on it, but it was true they hadn't really been actually dating, per se. The night Regina had come to the hospital, they had decided to give it an honest go, but then in the weeks following, they had yet to actually see one another again.

There was always a good excuse from Regina. She had a lot of responsibilities with her company and a small child at home. It was a full plate for anyone, so it was understandable that she wouldn't have any availability left for a dating life.

But then that didn't mean Emma was thrilled with the arrangement. She felt like they'd had such a meaningful moment when Regina came to see her. Regina had decided to take a chance and give them a try and since then, they'd talked on the phone every day and texted as well. They were connected, but Emma was admittedly bummed that she hadn't gotten to see her again, which was likely why August's words got to her.

When they got back to the station, Emma decided to text Regina. She knew the other woman was working, so she just typed a few words into her phone, hoping to get something back from her to ebb the uneasiness following Ariel's flirtations and August's reaction.

 **Hey, just wanted to see how your day was going.**

Emma waited a few minutes, but when she hadn't heard back yet, she decided it would be a good time to take a quick shower and clean up from their busy morning.

She was always fast at work, because she'd learned the hard way how much it sucked to get a call when you were naked and completely soaking wet.

When she got out, she relaxed a bit and took her time in the locker room, getting dressed and relaxing a bit. It wasn't until she was heading back towards the day room, that she checked her phone and smiled at the name on the screen.

 _ **It's going alright. Better now that my meetings are completed for the day.  
**_  
Emma didn't waste anytime texting back.

 **Yeah I bet. Hey I was wondering if maybe you'd be free tomorrow night? Maybe we could do dinner?  
**  
She tried not to feel too hopeful because she knew Regina was busy, but she still ended up feeling pretty bummed when she saw Regina's response.

 _ **I'm sorry, but I have a company dinner to attend to.**_

Emma sighed and put her phone down. She was trying not to start doubting things, but this was all starting to make her worry.

As if guessing some negative feelings from the lack of response, Regina texted again.

 _ **It's for a very big fundraiser. I wouldn't go if it wasn't important. Maybe we can do something next week? I have some openings.  
**_  
Emma read over her words with a frown. She felt like Regina was basically saying she'd pencil her in when she got a chance. She didn't really think the other woman meant to come off that way, but Emma was a little sensitive when it came to being pushed aside or undervalued. She tended to jump to conclusions, so she was trying to reassure herself this wasn't like that.

 **Yeah, maybe.  
**  
Emma only waited a few seconds for a response this time.

 _ **So how is your day going?  
**_  
 **It's okay. Lots of trainings because of that fire. So we spent all morning in gear practicing self-rescues. It was pretty exhausting.  
**  
She certainly wasn't exaggerating. She felt completely depleted and it wasn't even noon yet.

 _ **Well I'm glad. Whatever you have to do to be safe.  
**_  
Emma rolled her eyes. Of course Regina would just care that they were training more and more. It made her smile as well, though. No matter how much time that had, or more so hadn't spent together, it was still clear Regina cared. That had to mean something.

Emma tapped her thumbs over the screen to respond.

 **Yeah, but it sucks when you're drenched in sweat and then have to run out for a call.  
**  
 _ **I'd imagine. How did your call go?  
**_  
Emma nearly laughed when she remembered her very forward patient.

 **It went well. It was a drug overdose and we got her back right away. She was pretty entertaining though. She only wanted to talk to me and like literally tried to hold me there at the hospital when I went to leave.  
**  
Regina's reply came instantly.

 _ **Really?  
**_  
 **Yeah. She said if I had to leave, I had to leave my number too. That was a new one for me, lol.  
**  
Emma saw the three dots show up, indicating that Regina was typing, but then they disappeared. They popped up again a few seconds later, but then disappeared again as well. Emma just sat there, confused.

Eventually, the dots stopped appearing. Emma waited. And then waited some more.

Finally, it had been nearly fifteen minutes and Emma was starting to think, hoping more like, that Regina had simply been called away. It was when she finally stood up and clicked off her phone and decided to try and be productive, that the device chimed, indicating a new message.

 _ **As it turns out, they can make another space at the dinner tomorrow. So if you'd be willing, I'd like to invite you to accompany me.  
**_  
Emma stared at her phone for a full minute, trying to understand the sudden change in conversation, before it hit her.

A slow smile pulled across her face.

It appeared Regina was suddenly motivated to meet up again and Emma found herself very grateful to Ariel.

* * *

 **A little shorter this time, but it felt like an appropriate stopping place. Thank you for reading. Please take a few seconds to leave a review.**


	11. Chapter 11

Nervously, she paced back in forth in a short, slender black dress that she dug out of her closet. Her loose, curly hair draped around her shoulders, and for once, she looked genuinely feminine. Emma Swan did not do dresses, except under extreme circumstances. But then she supposed that this probably counted.

"I'm so nervous." She turned to her friend, who had helped do her hair.

"You look stunning, trust me. She will think you are to die for." As if on cue, the doorbell rang to Emma's apartment.

"God Ruby, I don't think I can do this. I don't know who I'm fooling, I don't dress like this and go to fancy dinners. I feel like an idiot." Emma plopped herself down onto the bed next to Ruby and the brunette turned to face her.

Ruby placed a hand on Emma's shoulder and squeezed lightly until her friend looked at her.

"Emma, suck it up." She started and Emma's eyes widened slightly. "You are a firefighter. You're a badass, tough, brave, firefighter. If you can run into the most dangerous situations without blinking, you can handle a freaking date. Take a deep breath, believe me when I say you look absolutely stunning, and go greet your woman."

Ruby wasn't generally so...straightforward, and it had Emma a bit taken aback. She might have paused to dwell on it more, but the doorbell rang again and Emma realized she was leaving Regina to stand outside.

She didn't have any choice, other than to suck in a deep breath and shake off the nerves. So she did and made her way through her small apartment, towards the front door.

She took one last look at her made up and dressed up reflection, before finally turning the knob and opening the door.

Luckily, her nerves and anxiety were forgotten for a moment when she saw Regina standing there. The woman was in her own black dress, but all the way to her feet and probably not something found on clearance at Marshalls. But Emma wasn't dwelling on herself anymore, because the dark and gorgeous woman in front of her had her whole attention.

"Emma."

It seemed the same could be said for Regina. The brunette stood still inside the doorframe and seemed to be taking a moment to appreciate the sight of Emma. It may have made Emma self conscious on another day, but she was still too lost in her momentary distraction.

"You look amazing." Emma managed to get out, though her voice was far softer than normal.

" _You_ look incredible, Emma." Regina emphasized and Emma felt her cheeks warm up. She looked away quickly and missed the smile that came across Regina's own features. "Are you ready?"

Emma just nodded and stepped out of the door. Just as she went to pull it closed behind her, she managed to glimpse her eavesdropping friend and caught sight of the dropped jaw in reaction to her date. The reaction gave Emma the slightest boost in confidence for their evening.

They made it down to the car waiting for them and Emma tried not to feel awkward when Regina held the door for her. It was out of character for her to ever be the one led or taken anywhere and she didn't really know how to act. But she managed to slide in and situate herself without letting those feelings show.

The ride to the event center was rather uneventful. They made small talk and just relaxed comfortably during the drive. It wasn't until they pulled up to the World Trade Center building and she saw the amount of people going in, that some of her confidence started slipping. She was certainly glad at that point, that Ruby had insisted she wear her nicest dress. Everyone she saw looked like they were ready for the red carpet.

"This way." Regina was stepping from the car before Emma had finished gawking and so she hadn't even noticed they'd stopped the car.

Getting herself together, Emma followed her date and exited the vehicle. She tried not to look like a five year old in wonder as she looked around them, but it was difficult. She hadn't been to the World Trade Center before and wasn't expecting such a huge turnout.

She walked next to Regina as they entered the building. There were men in tuxedos everywhere, directing the guests towards the proper rooms. This was already so much more elaborate that she'd imagined and she was trying not to feel intimidated. They entered what was set up to be a large dining hall and stopped at yet another gentleman dressed up in a perfect black tux. Regina gave him her name and after checking the card in front of him, he requested they follow him and the two women moved towards their assigned seats.

Emma moved to follow Regina, but was surprised when the woman placed a hand on her lower back and led Emma to walk with her. It was probably a thoughtless move for Regina, but for the firefighter, it was a pleasant feeling she was unused to. She could certainly get used to the feeling of Regina's hands on her, that was for sure.

"Are you alright?" Regina's voice interrupted her continuous inner monologues and Emma hoped her unfamiliarity wasn't so obvious.

"Yeah, I'm great." She offered a small smile and was rewarded with one from Regina. It made those butterflies start flapping again and then go completely mad when Regina's hand slipped around her waist.

"I know these things can be a little stiff, but I figured it was better than nothing."

"Definitely." Emma responded immediately.

"Hopefully it won't be too dull, and we can get out early." Regina stopped at the table and let Emma sit first, before taking the chair next to her. She just barely caught sight of the frown pulling at Emma's lips. She matched the expression before she realized. "I was hoping we could get a drink afterwards." She clarified and watched Emma look up and smile.

"I'd love to."

"Good." Regina's eyes looked over Emma for a second in a way that made Emma want to shift in her seat, before she glanced across the table. "William, it's good to see you, again."

"And you, Regina. Who is your lovely guest, this evening?" The man with nothing but the whitest hair and beard grinned and lifted his glass before taking a sip.

"This is my _date_ , Emma."

Emma didn't miss the emphasis, or the way Regina leaned closer to her, giving her a pleasing hint of the perfume she was wearing. The gesture immediately reminded her of their text conversation from the day before and while part of her wondered if she should be concerned, another part wanted to smirk at the less than subtle signs of jealousy.

"Very well. It's nice to meet you, Emma." William inclined his head and Emma nodded back.

"You too." Emma wasn't sure if she should further engage the only other occupant of their large table, but fortunately, she didn't have to contemplate that much further.

Regina stood next to her and Emma watched as she happily greeted another blonde woman, giving her an affectionate hug and kiss on the cheek. Emma didn't feel any jealousy of her own though. It was obvious to her that they were only good friends.

"This must be Emma." The new woman smiled at Emma and the younger woman stood to offer a polite greeting in return. "Regina has been talking about you non-stop recently."

Emma almost laughed at Regina's irritated glare in response to her friend. She heard the hissed " _Kathryn_!" and saw the subtle jab from her elbow.

They all sat and Emma couldn't help noticing Kathryn practically staring at her as others joined their table and more introductions were made. She tried not to fidget in her seat and gain a concerned expression from Regina, but it was difficult.

"So Emma, I hear you're a firefighter." The man introduced to her as Frederick, Kathryn's husband, asked her in a break in conversations.

"That's right." She nodded and glanced around the table. "What do you do?"

"I head the financing department for the Patriots. It's not very interesting work, like I'm sure yours is, but I get amazing seats for free to all the games, so that's a big plus." He grinned and put his arm around his wife.

"That's a pretty big plus. I'm a huge fan." Emma admitted.

"Yeah? Well we should all do some games this season." He said seriously and Emma tried not to get overly excited at the prospect.

"That sounds great."

"So do we know what the food options are tonight?" William asked the table as he glanced around.

"I'm not sure, but I heard it was something with salmon." Kathryn responded as she picked up her glass. Emma lifted her own water and took a sip.

"Well at a thousand dollars a plate, it better be pretty good." William laughed and the others joined. Fortunately, it covered Emma briefly choking on her water— though of course one person noticed.

Regina immediately placed a hand on Emma's back and the sensation distracted the blonde for the briefest second.

"It's already covered." Regina immediately reassured, but Emma smiled and shook her head. That wasn't her concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, totally." She tried to laugh it off and hide her real feelings. Regina didn't look overly convinced, but managed to look away after a minute.

"I need to go speak with someone. Will you be alright for a moment?" Regina asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Go ahead." She was afraid she looked out of her element and tried to sound reassuring.

"Go Regina, it'll give us time to bond." Kathryn spoke up and Emma saw a look pass between them. The two reminded Emma of her friendship with Ruby and she could appreciate that Regina had a best friend like that.

Regina seemed a little reluctant to leave her then, which caused those butterflies to flutter just a bit, but then she managed to finally step away and Kathryn didn't waste a second scooting over into her vacated seat.

"So Emma," Kathryn started and Emma geared up for an interrogation. It wasn't her first time. "I'm really happy you came, tonight."

Emma blinked a few times.

"Yeah, me too." Emma answered genuinely. "I was kinda surprised she asked, though." She admitted.

"I don't know why. She'd berate me for repeating this, but I was serious when I said she's been talking about you non-stop." She finished and Emma worried she was blushing.

"I guess I just started wondering because it seemed like she could never find time." She didn't want to sound like she was complaining, but she felt like she could be honest with Kathryn. "But yesterday, she asked me to come after I told her about a patient asking me out." She smiled lightly.

"Oh honey," Kathryn began with a laugh, "yeah there are some things you're going to learn quickly with Regina. She is not shy about being jealous. She'd never call it that, but we all know it. She can be...hmm...let's say territorial, in a way — but understand she's not purposefully acting any way. She just has a hard time dealing with her feelings, but when she thinks there's any way that what she has is threatened, she'll always react."

Emma thought on that for a moment. She didn't think it bothered her, but it was something to be cautious of. She had a girlfriend once when she was younger that had a serious problem with jealousy. It lead to nearly constant arguments which of course led to their inevitable breakup. She didn't want to go there again, but at the same time, there was something intriguing about a woman like Regina being a little possessive. It kinda turned her on if she was being honest.

"But don't ever use that against her." Kathryn brought her out of those thoughts and Emma blinked as she looked over again.

"I would never do that." She said immediately.

"I hope not. Regina is the best friend I have ever had and I won't see her emotions toiled with ever again." The change in tone caught Emma by surprise, but she managed to nod.

"I really like her. I'm not going to do anything to ruin that." She replied seriously. Kathryn held her eyes for a few more seconds until Emma felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Is everything okay, here?" Regina was at her side and Emma looked up to see narrowed eyes aimed at Kathryn. The other woman suddenly looked nothing but completely innocent.

"Of course. We're just having a nice chat."

Regina still eyed her friend as Kathryn moved over and she took her seat again. Fortunately, the first course was brought out a minute later and that helped end the slightly awkward moment.

Emma started eating her salad and tried to keep up with the chatter around the table. Things started moving by a little faster then and she was grateful once dessert was brought out. It was a nearly painful hour _after_ dessert, when they finally stepped outside and Emma was thanking God as the car pulled up.

"I'm sorry." Regina said.

"What — why are you sorry?"

"I know that must have been as bad as listening to nails on a chalkboard. Dinners like this are always slow and painfully boring. Since Henry has a babysitter tonight and miraculously nothing has gone wrong, how do you feel about continuing the night on a more casual note?"

Emma's response was immediate.

"What do you have in mind?"

* * *

"You looked like a hot chocolate kind of person to me." Regina explained as they stopped walking and Emma looked questioningly at the building they'd stopped in front of.

"I don't know exactly what a hot chocolate kind of person looks like, but you're totally right." Emma laughed. "I've never been to L.A. Burdick before, but I hear it's nice." She commented as she opened the door for Regina.

"Definitely nice. A bit overpriced," She said lowly, leaning closer to Emma, "but I find it cozy."

Emma got a bigger whiff of Regina's perfume and inhaled deeply. It had her smiling on the inside and out and Regina returned it unknowingly before leading them to the front of the store.

Regina ordered herself a large latte and didn't even ask Emma before ordering her a large hot cocoa as well. She slapped Emma's hands away when the firefighter tried to pull out her own wallet and left the woman a little dumbfounded.

"You didn't have to do that, you know?" Emma started as she sat down in the corner with her date.

"I know that, but after that dinner, I wanted to make up for it." Regina gave a smile that made the permanent butterflies in Emma's stomach do a little number.

"The dinner that you paid two thousand dollars for?" She raised an eyebrow and Regina looked off. "I'm pretty sure I owe you now, for at least the next thirty or forty dates."

"That's not how it works." Regina commented lightly. "You don't owe me anything. I wanted to bring you and it was for a good cause." She paused when someone arrived and sat their drinks in front of them. Emma looked down at hers with the eyes of an excited child and it had Regina grinning.

"Do you guys have any cinnamon?" Emma asked the server and got a confused look before a small nod.

"Sure thing, honey. I'll bring some out." The grey haired woman nodded and stepped away.

"You want cinnamon in your hot chocolate?"

"It's good."Emma immediately defended and lifted her chin. Regina shook her head, but she was smiling.

"Whatever makes you happy, dear." Regina took a long sip from her latte, before placing her mug back down and cradling the warm cup between her hands. "Now let's go back to the forty to fifty dates…" Regina's eyes caught Emma's.

"Well it's gonna take that long, isn't it?"

"I was more thinking about how presumptuous that was, don't you think?" The brunette smiled lightly as Emma blushed for a few seconds. But then the pink receded and a slow smile came across Emma's face.

"Is it?" She spoke confidently and Regina started to smirk.

"Well, if we somehow managed to see each other once or twice a week, even though that in itself is rather presumptuous and unrealistic due to our conflicting schedules, then that means we'd have to date for another five months to a year to make up for tonight. You don't think that's assuming quite a bit?" Regina asked and took a slow sip from her coffee.

"Not really, no." Emma shook her head and watched Regina's eyebrow raise again. "Come on Regina, you paid an extra _thousand_ dollars to have me go out with you tonight. I don't think assuming we'll be together five or twelve months from now is out of line." She shrugged and lifted her cocoa again.

"Well I can say I like your confidence." She started and placed her mug back down. "Let's see how long that can last. Your place or mine?"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, please review! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Story is now being bumped to a Mature rating ;)**

"Well I can say I like your confidence." Regina started and placed her mug back down. "Let's see how long that can last. How far do you live from here?"

Emma felt the lingering sting from whacking her shin on the bottom step leading to her apartment. She'd tripped over herself in attempt at getting inside as fast as possible and the bone in her leg took the impact painfully. She couldn't focus on it though. Not with Regina right behind her the whole way, whispering seductive words into her ear. She'd been shocked to hear her ask to come back to her place and now Regina was being relentless and Emma was just too turned on to focus on anything else.

She made it to the front door and fumbled with her keys as she searched for the one to unlock the next part of their increasingly exciting night. She smelled Regina's intoxicating perfume a second before she felt the woman's lips by her ear and her hands wrapping gently around her waist.

"I figured a firefighter would be able to focus a little better under pressure." She teased and Emma could actually feel the smirk pulling at Regina's lips.

But then that was all it took.

Emma's hands stopped fumbling and she smiled to herself. She remembered Regina's words about confidence and knew exactly what she wanted. She waited one more second before responding.

In a swift movement, Emma spun around in front of Regina until she faced her. She saw Regina's right eyebrow arch just the slightest before Emma gave her a grin of her own and stepped forward.

Regina welcomed the move as Emma's hands slipped around her waist and her smirk deepened as she daringly spun them until Regina's back was against the door. She moved her own hands up Emma's arms until each slid over muscular shoulders. Delicate fingers intertwined beneath the curled blonde hair behind Emma's neck and Regina pulled her until the two were molded together against the doorway.

"Now that's more like it." Regina breathed out just before that air was taken as Emma closed the last inch between them and pressed their lips together.

Emma was used to exhilaration and the level of excitement that made a heart pound out rhythms that would send a moderate level hypochondriac to the emergency room at lightening speed. She was becoming adept at handling that physical exhaustion on a somewhat regular basis and by now, it generally had very little emotional effect. Somehow though, Regina was a complete game changer.

Emma felt her fingers tremble against silk the second Regina's thumb made a gentle caress against the side of her neck. As the goosebumps raised on the skin under those soft hands, Emma felt herself shiver. She noticed her legs give a small wobble when Regina pressed her hips against her own and she noticed her breathing was becoming insufficient.

It was a different level of difficulty to regain control over the automatic effects. In a fire, she had a switch she could flip that may not completely turn off her fears, but it muted them so they were pushed to the background and she could focus on the moment and what was important. In the moment with Regina though, it wasn't quite so simple. Somehow, this woman was more distracting than superheated flames licking at the sleeves of Emma's coat.

She changed tactics. She knew she couldn't block out the feelings Regina was evoking, but then why would she want to? She didn't want to lose the pleasure in Regina's touch as those fingers now slipped down Emma's neck and paused over the hard and fast staccato beats of her heart. So instead of attempting to mute the excited impulses running through her entire body, she used it as fuel to push herself to keep going.

Emma let her hands wander — her right sliding up Regina's back while her left dared to fall lower. She heard the softest sound escape Regina's lips and it while it made Emma's own body pulsate without her permission, it fueled her even further.

Growing even bolder, Emma pulled her hands back and pushed Regina more firmly against the door. A soft gasp was quickly followed by a squeeze of Regina's hand as she pulled Emma even harder against her body. It was quickly becoming more natural to let every effect of her movements push her to make another.

Deciding it was time to take this further, Emma gripped her keys again. Her fingers were more sure now and she managed to keep her lips attached to Regina's as she shoved the jagged metal into the lock and made quick work of sliding the deadbolt out of place. She moved an arm around Regina's back to keep them pressed to one another as she turned the knob and let their bodies push the door open.

"That's what I like to see." Regina taunted further as she pulled back for a breath, but Emma could see how aroused she was in the dark pupils looking back at her. She gave the other woman a smirk of her own before moving forward and pressing their lips together once again.

They walked and stumbled their way down the hallway, kicking off heels and dropping bags as they went. Emma felt her confidence rising as she walked Regina backwards through the apartment until they reached the living room. She even made the bold move of pushing against Regina when they reached the edge of the couch, though Regina wasn't one to just take it.

Regina let Emma have the lead, but as Emma pushed her towards the couch, she gripped the black dress in two surprisingly tight fists and jerked the younger woman down with her until they two landed on the soft surface.

Emma let out a small laugh which created a more genuine smile on Regina's face. They paused for a second as Emma kept her weight mostly off of Regina and the two just locked eyes.

Emma felt her heart rate pick up just a bit more and she wondered if Regina felt the same. She moved slower then as she lowered her head and softly pressed their lips together.

There was such an intense and instantaneous reaction every time they touched, that it almost made Emma say something really stupid — something you just should _not_ be saying so early in a relationship and on only a second actual date. But she couldn't deny there was a strong feel that was foreign to her and growing every time they touched.

Distraction came again, this time in the form of Regina's boldly wandering hands. Emma's breath hitched and the seal of her lips against Regina's broke briefly as hands slipped down Emma's back until they squeezed without hesitation.

"Come on, firefighter. Don't tell me you're starting to sweat already?" She taunted again and Emma let a low growl sound in the back of her throat a split second before she lowered herself more fully onto Regina and pressed their lips together once more in a more demanding kiss.

If it was surprise she was looking for, Emma would be disappointed. Regina responded to the kiss with equal determination and continued to let her hands move without trepidation. Emma forced herself not to react when she felt one of them slip up her thigh and under the hem of her dress.

Regina paused there for a minute. She pulled back from the kiss and Emma opened her eyes to see the question there in Regina's. She waited only the duration of a breath before leaning up and pulling the dress up herself, sweeping it up over her head in one perfectly fluid motion.

Emma gave her a soft smile and matched it with an equally tender kiss before pulling back and fixing her gaze on Regina's face. She stayed in that position as the other woman's hands started wandering once more and Emma's lips pulled into a grin as Regina's eyes paused over her different assets.

"Don't get cocky." Regina said but she was smiling as she slipped her index finger below the band of Emma's bra, using her hook to pull the firefighter back down to her.

Confidence rising, Emma let her hands start moving again. She mimicked Regina and slid her fingers over a smooth thigh, letting them slip below the hem of Regina's dress and continue upwards. As their kiss turned more heated, she couldn't even think to hesitate anymore and Emma pushed Regina's dress the rest of the way up.

Regina sat up willingly when Emma pulled her. It was clear in the expression on her face that she approved of Emma's boldness and she raised her arms as the firefighter nearly ripped the dress from her body. She even smiled again as Emma grabbed the back of her neck and pressed their lips together, roughly.

Any earlier trepidation was clearly gone then. Emma held them together with one hand on the back of Regina's neck and used the other to quickly unsnap the hooks of her black lace bra. She had to overpower those nervous tremors that liked shaking her when she looked at Regina. It took a little extra effort now as seeing Regina bare was one of the most exhilarating experiences to date in her life. At least her pounding heart rate beating nearly painfully against her ribs was suggesting as much.

Nothing was stopping her now, though. She wasn't going to give Regina one more opportunity to taunt her and that wasn't just because she wouldn't separate their lips. She continued moving confidently, daringly exploring the body under her. She felt Regina's breath hitch, but the woman had circled her hands behind Emma's neck and only held on tighter as Emma continued her movements.

Finally, and slightly reluctantly, Emma pulled her lips from Regina's. She immediately moved to the spot on Regina's throat, just below her ear and assumed her efforts were appreciated when a deep moan vibrated the skin under her lips. She continued moving lower and felt a leg wrap up around her back to bring their bodies even closer together. Emma could hardly get over just how sexy the move was, but then it only added enthusiasm to her movements.

She lifted herself once more and let herself enjoy the view for a few seconds before shifting lower. She glanced up as her tongue came in contact with one of Regina's breasts and reveled in the way her eyes were pressed closed and her teeth bit at her lower lip. She felt fingers thread into her hair and grinned as Regina held her tighter to her body.

She knew it was time to move again when her head was pushed lower. She felt more than happy to oblige and readjusted herself again on the small couch, surprising herself even when she managed to keep her balance. She made a mental note though, that next time they'd make it to the bedroom.

As much as she wanted to just rip Regina's panties from her body and dive right in, she knew it was better to slow herself down a bit and build a bit of anticipation. She also got a small amount of joy from knowing in Regina's movements, that she wanted her to just get on with it, but she wasn't going to give in yet.

So to make Regina wait just a little but more, Emma moved extra slowly as she slipped her fingers under the black lace. She pulled back just the tiniest bit before lowering her head to place a soft kiss at the newly exposed skin. She smiled as she felt Regina squirm a bit and repeated the move again, pulling the garment down just another inch.

"Emma…" Regina breathed out what Emma assumed was meant to be a warning, but the soft tone took the power from it.

"Yes?" She asked in a cocky tone as she rested her chin against Regina's hip.

Brown eyes snapped open and a growl sounded from deep within Regina's throat, making Emma shiver despite the heat she felt through her body. Regina didn't have to say a word; Emma knew the clock was running low on teasing, but then she wasn't willing to just play the docile and obedient role either.

Emma changed her mind from earlier then and smiled internally. She slid one arm underneath Regina's back quickly and the other under one of her legs. She reveled in the surprise in Regina's expression as she lifted the woman onto her lap as she stood from the couch and held her in strong arms.

Regina instantly moved to hold on as Emma started walking. The initial surprise was replaced by an excitement that only encouraged Emma more and more. Regina even moved one hand to Emma's jaw and pressed their lips together once more.

They made it to the bedroom fast and Emma broke the kids as she dropped Regina down with just enough force before landing on top of her. She gave her best grin a second before she reattached their lips together for a quick kiss, pulling back before Regina could grab her neck again.

She continued with the quick movements as she moved down once more. This time, she didn't pause before moving her fingers under the lace again. She gave into her own earlier impulse and the underwear were thrown towards a corner of the room to be completely forgotten.

Part of her still wanted to take in the moment, but she just couldn't slow down. With Regina completely bare underneath her, the sight was just too tempting for the firefighter and she finally leaned in towards the woman that lived in her dreams for so long.

Regina took the hint when Emma pushed her legs apart. She let a hand wander back towards the blonde locks again, fingers weaving through, but this time she didn't push. She didn't have to because Emma wasn't wasting anymore time. Her lips pressed to the inside of Regina's thigh, only lingering there for the briefest moment before moving further inward.

Regina's nails scratched lightly against Emma's scalp, but only in encouragement it seemed because when Emma looked back up, she saw the woman's eyes closed again and a soft smile in place once more. Feeling confident, Emma placed a few more kisses on the inside of Regina's thigh before she made it towards the center and left a long, lingering kiss there.

She felt the muscles in Regina's legs flex just slightly and that moment, she finally slipped her tongue out and licked right against her center. Regina jerked slightly, so Emma tightened her arms around Regina's legs and repeated the move again.

Once Regina settled slightly, Emma shifted to slip a hand between their bodies. She didn't move her mouth as she slid one finger inside Regina and waited a moment for her to adjust. A few seconds later, she started moving her hand slowly and rhythmically while using her tongue to lightly tease her center.

Emma continued with the slow movements until she felt Regina's fingers flex in her hair and heard the increasing volume of her exhaled breaths. She started speeding up then and could tell Regina was already getting close. Emma used her lips and tongue to sucks against Regina's clit as she sped up even more and continued as Regina's hips rose and her thighs tightened around Emma's head.

Quickly, Emma felt a shake in Regina's legs as the woman sucked in a big breath before she slowly lowered back to the mattress and Emma heard the release of air from Regina's plump lips. She pulled back slightly and glanced up, smiling at the serene expression on Regina's face.

It didn't last.

Emma saw as Regina's eyes opened and the soft smile started pulling into another sinister smirk. Dark pupils grew outward as Regina sat up slowly and held Emma's stare.

Emma couldn't even enjoy the excitement over making Regina come undone so quickly as the other woman was already advancing on her and another feeling was quickly replacing the pride. As Regina's hand wrapped around the back of her neck though and their lips pressed together once more, Emma couldn't possibly be bothered to care. Especially when Regina shifted her lips to her ear and whispered seductively...

"My turn now…" 


End file.
